The aim of the present book will be to provide a comprehensive account
of our present knowledge of the theory of dynamical phenomena exhibited
by elose binary systems; and on the basis of such phenomena as have been
attested by available observations to outline probable evolutionary
trends of such systems in the course of time. The evolution of the
stars - motivated by nuelear as weIl as gravitation al energy sources -
constitutes nowadays a well-established branch of stellar astronomy. No
theo- ries of such an evolution are as yet sufficently specific - let
alone infallible - not to require continual tests by a confrontation of
their consequences with the observed prop- erties of actual stars at
different stages of their evolution. The discriminating power of such
tests depends, of course, on the range of information offered by the
test objects. Single stars which move alone in space are now known to
represent only a minority of objects constituting our Galaxy (cf.
Chapter 1-2); and are, moreover, not very revealing of their basic
physical characteristics - such as their masses or absolute dimensions.
If there were no binary systems in the sky, the only star whose vital
statistics would be fully known to us would be our Sun.