An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
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A member of a population of blue stars appearing on the → horizontal branch in the → Hertzsprung-Russell diagram of the Galactic → halo populations and → globular clusters. Belonging to → spectral types B3 to A0, they have evolved past the → red giant stage and are burning helium in their core.

→ blue; → horizontal; → branch, → star.

The hottest variety of stars on the → horizontal branch with temperatures ranging from 20,000 to 40,000 K. EHB stars are distinguished from normal horizontal branch stars by having extremely thin, inert hydrogen envelopes surrounding the helium-burning core. They are hot, dense stars with masses in a narrow range near 0.5 Msun. These stars have undergone such extreme mass loss during their first ascent up the giant branch that only a very thin hydrogen envelope survives. Stars identified as EHB stars are found in low metallicity globular clusters as an extension of the normal HB.

→ extreme; → horizontal; → branch; → star.

A → horizontal branch star with high velocity.

→ field; → horizontal; → branch; → star.

A set of roughly horizontal points in the → Hertzsprung-Russell diagram of a typical → globular cluster. It displays a stage of stellar evolution which immediately follows the → red giant branch (RGB) in stars with an initial mass < 1.2 Msun. When the star's ascent of the RGB is terminated by the → helium flash, it moves down to the HB. The star's → effective temperature on the HB is higher than it was on the RGB, but the luminosity is considerably less than at the helium flash. Usually HB stars have two energy sources: in addition to the → helium burning in their cores, they experience → hydrogen fusion in a surrounding shell. The thickness of the shell determines the color of the HB stars. A thin shell, involving low → opacity, makes the star look blue. The HB domain encompasses a very large effective temperature range with several members: → extreme HB, → blue HB, → RR Lyrae, → red HB, and → red clump stars. The locations depend on many parameters, including stellar mass, metallicity, age, helium abundance, and rotation.

→ horizontal; → branch.

A star lying on the → horizontal branch.

→ horizontal; → branch; → star.

A star found on the red part of the → horizontal branch. According to theoretical models, these stars result from the evolution of stars with a mass around 0.8 Msun, higher than that giving rise to → BHB stars. Upon helium burning in their cores, the remnant envelope of the red giant collapses.

→ red; → horizontal; → branch; → star.

A member of a rare class of objects found in → globular clusters to lie about one magnitude above and to the blue part of the → horizontal branch. These stars are identified as post → EHB stars on their way from to the → asymptotic giant branch.

→ supra-; → horizontal; → branch; → star.

A star that has arrived on the → horizontal branch after leaving the → red giant branch. It begins → helium burning in its core.

→ zero; → age; → horizontal; → branch; → star.