Subdwarf

Hertzsprung–Russell diagram

Spectral type

O

B

A

F

G

K

M

L

T

Brown dwarfs

White dwarfs

Red dwarfs

Subdwarfs

Main sequence
("dwarfs")

Subgiants

Giants

Red giants

Blue giants

Bright giants

Supergiants

Red supergiant

Hypergiants

absolute
magni-
tude
(M_V)

A subdwarf, sometimes denoted by "sd", is a star with luminosity class VI under the Yerkes spectral classification system. They are defined as stars with luminosity 1.5 to 2 magnitudes lower than that of main-sequence stars of the same spectral type. On a Hertzsprung–Russell diagram subdwarfs appear to lie below the main sequence.^[a]

The term "subdwarf" was coined by Gerard Kuiper in 1939, to refer to a series of stars with anomalous spectra that were previously labeled as "intermediate white dwarfs".^[1](p 87)

Since Kuiper coined the term, the subdwarf type has been extended to lower-mass stars than were known at the time. Astronomers have also discovered an entirely different group of blue-white subdwarfs, making two distinct categories:

• Cool subdwarfs
• Hot subdwarfs^[a]

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