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close binary
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| Different types of close binary
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In a detached binary, neither star fills its Roche lobe, so that there is no significant mass transfer between the components. In a semidetached binary, one of the stars fills its Roche lobe, which results in this star losing material in a matter stream that either falls directly onto its companion, or, as is more usual, that enters an accretion disk. In a contact binary both components fill their Roche lobes or, more often, overflow them so that there is a common convective envelope.
The proximity of stars in close binaries typically stretches at least one component into an ellipsoidal variable, and often produces an eclipsing binary as well.
Related categories
• TYPES OF STAR• STELLAR ASTROPHYSICS
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