Roche Lobe Overflow
€Semi-detached Þ secondary star fills its Roche lobe so that it is distorted into a pear shape.
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€At Lagrangian 1 (L1) point, gravitational and centrifugal forces cancel and material is lost from the secondary star into the
primary Roche lobe.
€Material falls towards
the white dwarf in a stream
€The 4 other stationary
points
L2 – L5 are
important for
orbit theory
2
credit:
csep10.phys.utk.edu
credit:
www.genesismission.org