The Masses of Stars

To determine the masses of stars, Kepler's third law is applied to the motions of binary stars---two
stars orbiting a common point. The greater the combined mass of the two stars, the greater the
gravity acceleration is, and, therefore, the smaller their orbital period. A majority of the several
hundred billion stars in the Galaxy are in a system with two or more stars orbiting each other.
Usually the binary stars are spectroscopic binary stars. A spectroscopic binary system is two stars
orbiting a common point at too great a distance away from us to resolve the two stars individually,
but whose binary nature is indicated in the periodic shift of their spectral lines as they orbit around
each other. Spectroscopic binary stars are used because (a) there are a lot more far away stars than
nearby ones and (b) more importantly, you can easily measure their speeds from the doppler shifted
lines.

Newton's form of Kepler's third law gives the combined mass of the two stars: (mass 1 + mass 2) =
(separation distance)3/(orbital period)2 if you use solar mass units, the A.U. for the distance unit
between the stars, and the time unit of years for the orbital period. The total distance between the
two stars is used in Kepler's third law, but their individual distances from the common point they
orbit is used to determine the stars' individual masses.

Since stars have about the same mass (within a factor of 20), they both orbit around a common
point, called the center of mass, that is significantly different from one of the star's center. The
center of mass (C.M.) is the point where (mass star 1) (C.M. distance 1) = (mass star 2) (C.M.
distance 2), or the point they would be balanced upon if the stars were on a stellar seesaw (it is the
``x'' in the figure below). The massive star is proportionally closer to the center of mass than the
low-mass star and the massive star also moves proportionally slower than the low-mass star so its
spectral lines have a smaller doppler shift.

Newton's Law of Gravity with Newton's second law of motion explains why this is. Both stars are
experiencing the same gravity force between them [since (mass star 1) x (mass star 2) = (mass star
2) x (mass star 1)]. Given the same gravity force at work between the two stars, the lower-mass star
will experience a greater acceleration than the more massive star (which star would be like Andre
the Giant and which would be like Tom Thumb?). The lower-mass star moves faster and has a
larger orbit. The more massive star's orbital speed is less and its orbit is smaller so that the two stars
always stay on opposite sides of the center of mass. The two stars inside the binary system have the
same orbital period around the center of mass.
Note of caution about comparisons: When comparing two separate binary systemS of the same
separation distance, the two stars in the binary system that has larger combined mass will move
faster than the two stars in the binary system with less combined mass. The larger combined mass
binary has greater gravity force acting between the two stars. When comparing the two stars within
a particular binary system, the larger mass star will move slower than the less massive star. The
gravity force acting on the two stars within the binary is the same for both of the stars.
The distance travelled by an object = velocity the time it takes. The distance travelled by the star
is just the circumference of the orbit = 2p the radius of a circular orbit and something similar for
an elliptical orbit. Therefore, each star's C.M.-distance r = the star's velocity the star's orbital
period / (2p). This allows you to use the easily measured velocity in Kepler's third law and in the
center of mass relations. The doppler shifts of the spectral lines are used to construct a radial
velocity curve---a plot of the radial velocity (line of sight velocity) vs. time. The low-mass star will
move proportionally faster than the massive star. Note that the two stars will have the same orbital
period but the less massive star will have a larger orbit around the center of mass point, so it will
have to move faster to compensate---both stars remain directly opposite each other as they orbit the
center of mass with the center of mass always in between them.
Uncertainty arises, though, if the binary orbital plane is inclined to our line of sight by an angle
amount i. In that very common case, the radial velocity = total velocity Sin(inclination angle).
The orbit's inclination angle i ranges from i=0 for a face-on orbit (viewing the orbit from directly
above the system) to i=90 for an edge-on orbit (viewing the orbit along its plane). The inclination
angle can be approximately determined from the plot of radial velocity vs. time. If the binary is an
eclipsing binary, then you know that i=90 because you see them periodically pass in front of each
other. Eclipsing binaries also allow us to accurately determine the diameters of stars (discussed in
the next section). The radial velocity measurement technique has also been used to find planets
around other stars and to locate black holes from the doppler shifts they produce in the visible stars
they orbit around.

Remember these rules:

1. Stars stay on the opposite side of the center of mass from each other.
2. The massive star moves slower than the low-mass star.
3. The center of mass is also the point where mass1 velocity1 = mass2 velocity2
Using the distance of the center of mass from each star, you can proportion out the total mass to
each star. Here are the steps to figure out each star's mass:
1. Find the total mass (mass star A + mass star B) from Kepler's 3rd law.
2. Find the proportion of each star's mass to the total mass from the center of mass: (mass star
A)/(mass star B) = (C.M. distance B)/(C.M. distance A) or (mass star A)/(mass star B) =
(velocity star B)/(velocity star A). Note which star's values are on top of the fraction and
which are on the bottom! Simplify the fraction down as far as possible.
3. If you set the mass of star A = (mass of star B)(the fraction of the previous step) and
substitute this for the mass of star A in the first step (Kepler's 3rd law step), you will find
star B's mass = the total mass/(1 + the fraction from step 2).
4. Star A's mass = star B's mass (the fraction from step 2).
5. Check that the proportions add up to the total mass!
(By the way, you can use this proportion idea in cooking if you need to have a 32-ounce mixture
and the recipe calls for 3 parts sugar to 2 parts flour or if a recipe is for 6 people but you need to
serve 8 people.) The masses of different types of stars are summarized in the Main Sequence Star
Properties table below.
Use the UNL Astronomy Education program's Eclipsing Binary Simulator to further explore how
the orbits of the stars in a binary star system change with different proportions of the masses (link
will appear in a new window). "Eclipsing binaries" are discussed further in the next section of
Astronomy Notes.
Even the smallest star's mass is much, much greater than a planet's so a "kilogram" is too tiny a unit
of mass to use for the stars. Star masses are specified in units of solar mass---relative to the Sun (so
the Sun has one solar mass of material). One solar mass is about 2 1030 kilograms.

How do you do that?

Use the observed velocities in the figure below to find the individual masses of the stars. The stars
have a measured period of 4/3 years and a separation distance of 4 A.U.

Step 1:
Kepler's third law says the total mass = 43/(4/3)2 = 64/(16/9) = 36 solar masses.
Step 2:
I will let the massive star be ``star A''. So (mass star A)/(mass star B) = 400/100 = 4.
Step 3:
mass star B = 36 solar masses/(1 + 4) = 7.2 solar masses.
Step 4:
mass star A = mass star B 4 = 28.8 solar masses.
Step 5: Check:
28.8 solar masses + 7.2 solar masses does equal 36 solar masses. This step makes sure you
did not make an arithmetic error in the previous steps. If the sum does not equal the value in
step 1, then re-check your math!

One final caution: There is a difference between the mass of a star and its size (diameter)! Just
because something is large in size (diameter) does not necessarily mean that it is more massive.
Some stars are very large in diameter but have less mass than much smaller stars. For example, in
the future, our Sun will become a red giant about 100 times larger in diameter than it is now, but it
will have less mass than it does now. It will eventually become a white dwarf about the diameter of
the Earth and that tiny white dwarf will be more massive than the much larger diameter ordinary
"red dwarf M stars" discussed in a later section.
Review Questions
1. How the masses of stars found? What kind of star systems are used and which famous law
of orbital motion is used?
2. How many times closer to the center of mass is the massive star than the low-mass star?
3. How do you use the radial velocity curve to find the mass proportions and separation
distance? How much faster or slower does the low-mass star move than the massive star?
4. Three binary systems with a separation of 2 A.U. between the two stars in each system.
System (1) has the two stars orbiting the center of mass in 1 year, system (2) has the two
stars orbiting the center of mass in 5 months, and system (3) has the two stars orbiting the
center of mass in 2 years. Put the binary systems in the correct order by increasing total
mass (least massive first and ignore the inclination angle i).
5. Star A is 0.2 A.U. from the center of mass and its companion star B is 0.6 A.U. from the
center of mass. Which star is more massive?
6. If the two stars in the previous question have orbital periods of 0.35777 years, what are the
individual masses of the two stars? (Hint: find their combined mass from Kepler's third law
and then use their relative center of mass distances to find how many times more massive
one star is than the other.)
7. Use the radial velocity curve graph in the text above. Assume that star A reaches a velocity
of 90 kilometers/second and star B reaches only 10 kilometers/second. If the separation
distance = 10 A.U., and the orbital period = 10 years, what is the combined mass of the two
stars? From the center of mass relation also find (star A mass)/(star B mass) and their
individual masses.
8. Which star system(s) would you be able to measure the radial velocity: (a) stars orbiting in a
plane that is along our line of sight (i=0); (b) stars orbiting in a plane that is perpendicular
to our line of sight (face-on, i=90); (c) stars orbiting in a plane with i=30.

The Sizes of Stars

All but a few stars appear as mere pinpoints in even the largest telescopes. They are much too far
away to derive their diameters from measuring their angular diameters and distances. Eclipsing
binaries are used to determine indirectly the diameters of stars. These are two stars orbiting each
other in a plane that is parallel to your line of sight so you see their orbits edge-on. This means that
one star will periodically cover up the other star. During the eclipse the total brightness measured
for the binary will decrease. The amount of the dip in brightness depends on the luminosity and
relative size of the two stars.
A star's diameter is found from speed = (distance travelled)/(time it takes). The speed comes from
the doppler shift and the time is the length of the eclipse. The distance travelled during the eclipse is
equal to the diameter of the star = 2 radius. The light curve---plot of brightness vs. time---is used
to derive the star diameters. Here is an example of two stars orbiting each other in circular orbits
seen edge-on with one star small and hot and the other large and cool:
When the small star moves from position 1 to position 2 (or from position 3 to position 4), it has
moved a distance equal to its diameter. When the small star moves from position 1 to position 3 (or
from position 2 to position 4), it has moved a distance equal to the diameter of the large star.
Star sizes can also be found (less accurately) from the luminosity and the flux. Recall from the
magnitude section above that the luminosity = [4p(star radius)2] [ (star's surface
temperature)4], where is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant. If you compare the star with the Sun,
you can cancel out the constants to get (star's radius)/(Sun's radius) = (Sun's temperature/star's
temperature)2 Sqrt[star's luminosity/Sun's luminosity]. See the ``How do you do that?'' box below
for an example. The sizes of different types of stars are summarized in the Main Sequence Star
Properties table below.

How do you do that?

Antares is 9120 times more luminous than the Sun (Antares' luminosity/Sun's luminosity)= 9120)
and has a temperature of only 3340 K and the Sun's temperature is 5840 K.

Antares' size/Sun's size = (5840/3340)2 Sqrt[9120] = 3.057 95.5 = 292. Antares is almost 300
times the size of the Sun! If the Sun were replaced by Antares, the inner planets Mercury, Venus,
and Earth would be inside Antares! It is a red giant star---a star close to death.

Try other scenarios of the star sizes and star masses with the UNL Astronomy Education program's
Eclipsing Binary Simulator (link will appear in a new window). You can adjust the star masses,
sizes, temperatures and separations and orbit inclination and eccentricity to see how the light curve
changes.

Review Questions
1. How do you use the light curve to find the diameters of stars?
2. What special type of binary star system is used to find the diameters of stars?
3. Use the light curve in the figure in the section above. Assume that when star A is behind star
B, the small dip in brightness is seen. When star B is behind star A, the big dip in brightness
is seen. Which star is more luminous?
4. From the previous problem, if t1 = 45 minutes, t2 = 60 minutes, t3 = 105 minutes, t4 = 120
minutes, what is (star A diameter)/(star B diameter)? [Hint: find which star is brighter and in
this circular orbit system (t8 - t6) = (t4 - t2).]
5. From the previous problem, if the velocity is 750 kilometers/second, what is the diameter of
the larger star?
6. The white dwarf Sirius B has a temperature of 14,000 K and a luminosity only 0.00794
times the Sun's luminosity. What is the diameter of Sirius B in kilometers? (The Sun's
radius = 696,000 kilometers.)