Childhood of stars shapes stellar evolution

tech.hindustantimes.com:

In classical models of stellar evolution, so far little importance has been attached to the early evolution of stars. Scientists now show that the biography of stars is indeed shaped by their early stage.

From babies to teenagers: stars in their "young years" are a major challenge for science. The process of star formation is particularly complex and difficult to map in theoretical models. One of the few ways to learn more about the formation, structure or age of stars is to observe their oscillations. "Comparable to the exploration of the Earth's interior with the help of seismology, we can also make statements about their internal structure and thus also about the age of stars based on their oscillations" says Konstanze Zwintz. The astronomer is regarded as a pioneer in the young field of asteroseismology and heads the research group "Stellar Evolution and Asteroseismology" at the Institute for Astro- and Particle Physics at the University of Innsbruck. The study of stellar oscillations has evolved significantly in recent years because the possibilities for precise observation through telescopes in space such as TESS, Kepler, and James Webb have improved on many levels. These advances are now also shedding new light on decades-old theories of stellar evolution.

Stars are called "children" as long as they are not yet burning hydrogen to helium in their cores. At this stage, they are on the pre-main sequence; after ignition, they become adults and move onto the main sequence. "Research on stars has so far focused mainly on adult stars -- such as our Sun" says Thomas Steindl, a member of Konstanze Zwintz's research group and lead author of the study. "Even if it sounds counterintuitive at first glance, so far little