Figure 8

Radius and mass evolution. The evolution of the radii (dashed line) and mass (dash-dotted line) as a function of time for the stars in the triple progenitor of Eta Carinae. The primary star of initial mass \(110M_{\odot}\) is shown in blue. The secondary and tertiary star, both of initial mass \(30M_{\odot}\), are shown in red. The Roche lobe of the primary and secondary are overplotted (blue solid line and red solid line respectively). The Roche lobe of the tertiary is about 2,000-3,000\(R_{\odot}\). After about 3 Myr, the primary star fills its Roche lobe.