Final answer:
The life cycle of a low mass star involves several stages, starting with the main sequence phase, transitioning to a red giant, and culminating as a white dwarf, which may eventually turn into a black dwarf after cooling for billions of years.
Step-by-step explanation:
The life cycle of a low mass star, like our Sun, follows a predictable series of stages. Stars with masses up to about twice that of the Sun tend to evolve in a similar manner. Initially, they spend the majority of their lifetimes fusing hydrogen into helium in their cores during the main sequence phase. Once hydrogen is depleted, the core contracts and heats up, igniting helium fusion. The star then expands into a red giant, shedding its outer layers and losing a significant portion of its mass.
Eventually, the core collapses to form a white dwarf, which is supported against gravity by the pressure exerted by degenerate electrons. Over time, white dwarfs cool and fade away, possibly becoming black dwarfs if they lose enough heat over a sufficient period. Interestingly, while a star begins with a certain mass, it can lose a considerable amount during its giant phases, sometimes up to half of its initial mass.
White dwarfs continue to cool slowly over billions of years until they radiate away all their remaining thermal energy. This extensive cooling period is so prolonged that we theoretically have all the time in the world for this process to culminate in the formation of a black dwarf—essentially, a cold, dark stellar remnant.