Abstract

The evolutionary significance of the observed luminosity function for main-sequence stars in the solar neighborhood is discussed. The hypothesis is made that stars move off the main sequence after burning about 10 per cent of their hydrogen mass and that stars have been created at a uniform rate in the solar neighborhood for the last five billion years. Using this hypothesis and the observed luminosity function, the rate of star creation as a function of stellar mass is calculated. The total number and mass of stars which have moved off the main sequence is found to be comparable with the total number of white dwarfs and with the total mass of all fainter main-sequence stars, respectively.