= Gravothermal stellar energy generation
{title2=$\epsilon_{\rm grav}=-Du/Dt-PD(1/\rho)/Dt$}
This term accounts for thermal storage and compression or expansion in the <stellar energy balance equation>. At fixed composition the <first law of thermodynamics> makes it $-TDS/Dt$. <Kelvin-Helmholtz contraction> can supply positive <luminosity>, while thermal adjustment may locally absorb energy. It is not simply the full change in gravitational potential energy: the <stellar virial theorem> also requires changes in internal energy.
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