Adiabatic orbital expansion under isotropic mass loss

ID: adiabatic-orbital-expansion-under-isotropic-mass-loss

Time averaging over a Kepler orbit gives , as follows from and . Consequently slow isotropic stellar mass loss preserves the secular orbital eccentricity. Conserved specific angular momentum then gives , so pericentre, apocentre and semimajor axis expand inversely with the remaining gravitational parameter.

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