An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
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The region around a star in a → binary system within which orbiting material is gravitationally bound to that star. The point at which the Roche lobes of the two stars touch is called the → inner Lagrangian point. → equipotential surface.

→ Roche limit; → lobe.

A process in a → binary system when a star fills its → Roche lobe, often by becoming a → giant or → supergiant during the later stages of → stellar evolution. When the star expands, any material that passes beyond the Roche lobe will flow onto the binary → companion, often by way of an → accretion disk. This occurs through the → inner Lagrangian point where the gravity of the two stars cancels. The RLOF is responsible for a number of phenomena including → cataclysmic variables, → Type Ia supernovae, and many → X-ray binary systems.

→ Roche lobe; → overflow.