Baryonic Accumulation: Contamination-Driven Stellar Death

Stellar evolution is conventionally modeled as internal fuel depletion—stars die when they exhaust hydrogen stores. This study proposes an alternative mechanism: stars die from external accumulation of baryonic debris leading to structural stagnation. Main sequence stars continuously accrete material from the interstellar medium, increasing total mass while decreasing chemical purity. Accumulated debris raises envelope opacity, forcing expansion that collapses the density-spin coupling required for fusion. The star does not run out of fuel—it becomes too contaminated to compress effectively. This framework explains red giant expansion, connects stellar death to second generation succession, and predicts spectral signatures of contamination-driven senescence.