Hydrogen-deficient star the outer layer of the star. The double degenerate scenario is a binary-star approach in which a smaller degenerate helium white dwarf and a larger carbon-oxygen white dwarf orbit each other so closely that they eventually inspiral due to gravitational wave losses. At the Roche limit, mass transfer takes place from the helium to the carbon-oxygen star. The latter undergoes helium shell burning to form a supergiant and evolve to a hydrogen-deficient star. The double degenerate scenario provides a better fit to the observational data. Hydrogen-deficient star A hydrogen-deficient star is a type of star that has little or no
Giant star This causes the outer layers to expand even further and generates a strong convective zone that brings heavy elements to the surface in a process called the first dredge-up. This strong convection also increases the transport of energy to the surface, the luminosity increases dramatically, and the star moves onto the red-giant branch where it will stably burn hydrogen in a shell for a substantial fraction of its entire life (roughly 10% for a Sun-like star). The core continues to gain mass, contract, and increase in temperature, whereas there is some mass loss in the outer layers. If the star's