A lubricant for tidal friction : commentary on: Zahn J.-P., 1977, A&A, 57, 383

Abstract

To many astronomers, even within the stellar community, studying the physics of close binary stars is not a desirable enterprise. A common opinion is that binary evolution is too complicated and that it involves too many parameters and possibilities, such that each of them may have low statistical significance. However, this opinion is refuted by how many papers on close binary systems there are among themost successful A&A papers presented in this issue. The work by Jean-Paul Zahn on tidal dissipation discussed here provides a marvelous example for why this is so.