Astrophysics (Index)About

Hayashi track

(H-R diagram track of evolution of some pre-main-sequence stars)

A Hayashi track is a track or path on a H-R diagram (HRD) that shows the evolution of a pre-main-sequence star, i.e., each point on the track indicates the position of that body at some point in its life. It outlines a particular phase in which the star is fully convective, the phase occurring in the early lifetimes of stars of up to 3 solar masses. The exact track depends upon the mass, metallicity and helium abundance (mass fractions) of the star. Such tracks are worked out numerically and checked against observations of star-forming regions. (Chushiro Hayashi first calculated a list of such tracks for a representative selection of stellar masses.) Stars which do not remain fully convective (i.e., larger than red dwarfs) subsequently follow the Henyey track.


(stars,stellar evolution,protostars,H-R diagram)
Further reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayashi_track
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1961PASJ...13..450H/abstract
https://hera.ph1.uni-koeln.de/~ossk/star-formation/PMS.pdf
https://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/H/Hayashi.html
http://spiff.rit.edu/classes/phys370/lectures/protostar/protostar.html

Referenced by pages:
evolutionary track
Hayashi limit
Henyey track
pre-main-sequence star (PMS)

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