Meaning of Roche lobe | Babel Free

Definitions

The teardrop-shaped region around a star in a binary system within which orbiting material is gravitationally bound to that star.

Examples

“A further interesting situation (although not one of much relevance for this book) comes about if both stars for some reason fill their Roche lobes simultaneously.”

“Generally, mass transfer by Roche lobe overflow is required to power LMXRB's, since low mass stars never exhibit strong stellar winds.”

“If only one component accurately fills its Roche lobe the system is semi-detached. If neither fills its Roche lobe, it is detached.”

CEFR level