Is There Life after Death for Stars?

The fate of all but the most massive stars is to become white dwarfs, which cool slowly to oblivion if in isolation. But most stars are parts of binaries, and we cannot consider a white dwarf in a close binary to be isolated.

As we shall see, there can be life after death (a rather spectacular life, at that) for a white dwarf if it receives mass from a companion. Likewise, the neutron stars and black holes that mark the death of massive stars can attain new life if they are parts of binary systems and mass is donated to them by a companion. We discuss these issues later in this chapter and in the next.