Mass–luminosity relation

Equation in stellar astrophysics

In astrophysics, the mass–luminosity relation is an empirical and theoretical relationship between a star's mass and its luminosity The relationship is represented by the equation: L L ⊙ = ( M M ⊙) a {\displaystyle {\frac {L}{L_{\odot }}}=\left({\frac {M}{M_{\odot }}}\right)^{a}} where L☉ and M☉ are the luminosity and mass of the Sun and 1 < a < 6. The value a = 3.5 is commonly used for main-sequence stars. This equation and the usual value of a = 3.5 only applies to main-sequence stars with masses 2M☉ < M < 55M☉ and does not apply to red giants or white dwarfs.

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