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Accretion, Stellar

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Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

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Definition

Stellar accretion refers to the inflow of ambient gas onto the surface of a star. During the process of star formation, accretion builds up the object to its final mass. The infalling gas is the interior portion of a dense core, a small molecular cloud that collapses under the influence of its own gravity. The object being built up in this manner is a protostar and represents the first phase of stellar evolution. Some infalling gas impacts the protostar directly. Much of the gas, however, has sufficient angular momentum that it goes into orbit around the young star. The accreting gas thus creates a circumstellar disk. Matter spirals in through the disk onto the surface of the protostar. The remaining part of the disk eventually gives rise to planets.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA

    Steven W. Stahler

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  1. Steven W. Stahler
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Correspondence to Steven W. Stahler .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  2. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  3. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Stahler, S.W. (2014). Accretion, Stellar. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1905-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1905-3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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