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
Giant star convection in the outer layers, triggers a second dredge-up, and causes a dramatic increase in size and luminosity. This is the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) analogous to the red-giant branch but more luminous, with a hydrogen-burning shell contributing most of the energy. Stars only remain on the AGB for around a million years, becoming increasingly unstable until they exhaust their fuel, go through a planetary nebula phase, and then become a carbon–oxygen white dwarf. Main-sequence stars with masses above about are already very luminous and they move horizontally across the HR diagram when they leave the main sequence, briefly becoming