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The mass of a star determines how it will evolve and eventually die.
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In wide binaries, which typically have orbital periods of
tens of years or more, the separation between the two stars is larger than
the largest radius that either star will ever reach and hence the two
stars will go through their entire life cycles independently.
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In close binaries (or interacting binaries),
which have shorter orbital
periods, a time will come when one star becomes a giant or supergiant and
fills its Roche lobe. There
is then the possibility of mass transfer and
completely new evolutionary paths are
opened up for the two stars.
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