Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Jan 2002
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2002newar..46....1k&link_type=abstract
New Astronomy Reviews, Volume 46, Issue 1, p. 1-12.
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
4
Scientific paper
In modeling the evolutionary processes of interacting binaries, a number of assumptions are invoked by many workers concerning the manner of the mass flow between the two stars. This article reviews the validity of the four assumptions most commonly used, namely, assumptions concerning (A) the critical Roche equipotential surface (the so-called Roche lobe), (B) accretion of matter from one star to its companion, (C) mass loss from the binary system, and (D), which is related to the last two items, whether the mass flow in a binary system is conservative or not. A large number of workers in this field appear to assume that the critical Roche equipotential surfaces (Roche lobes, in their lexicon) control the mass flow with the Lagrangian 1 point acting like a nozzle, channeling a rather well collimated jet of gas. Similarly, they also assume that accretion `disks' are formed in this process and those `disks' have properties very similar to solid disks with well defined surfaces and with precession, nutation etc. Finally, they assume, except in the most extreme case of rapid mass flow, conservative mass flow in which all mass lost by one star is completely accreted by the companion. These commonly invoked assumptions are critically examined from both observational data and relevant physics and are shown to be lacking realistic justification. We show what the concept of Roche equipotential surfaces actually tells us, and examine the manners of actual mass flow observed in selected binaries.
Guinan Edward F.
Kondo Yoji
McCluskey George E.
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