Hydrogen-deficient star radii. Hydrogen deficiency results from stellar evolution. Over the course of a star's evolution, both the consumption of hydrogen in nuclear fusion and the removal of hydrogen layers by explosive processes can lead to a deficiency of hydrogen in its atmosphere. Detailed theoretical models are still in their infancy. Modeling of hydrogen-deficient star evolution involves either a single-star approach or a binary-star approach. For example, there have been two theories put forward to explain the formation of extreme helium stars. The helium final flash scenario is a single-star approach in which a helium flash serves to consume the hydrogen from
Red-giant branch core becomes degenerate. The core still supports its own weight thermodynamically with the help of energy from the hydrogen shell, but is no longer in thermal equilibrium. It shrinks and heats causing the hydrogen shell to become thinner and the stellar envelope to inflate. This combination decreases luminosity as the star cools towards the foot of the RGB. Before the core becomes degenerate, the outer hydrogen envelope becomes opaque which causes the star to stop cooling, increases the rate of fusion in the shell, and the star has entered the RGB. In these stars, the subgiant phase occurs within a