It seems that there might be quite a few red giants with companion bodies in configurations which would aid in starlifting/mining operations. A quick search of EG articles on binary stars didn’t seem to locate mentions of this possibility, though.
See, for example, this recent paper “Binarity as the Origin of Long Secondary Periods of Red Giant Stars” https://arxiv.org/abs/2103.12748
The proposed explanation is an orbiting stellar or sub-stellar body with a tail of dust and gas pulled from the red giant, as determined by a study of about 350 (out of 16000) candidates.
P.S. Unfortunately, the handful of stars referenced directly in the paper all seem to be in the LMC.
See, for example, this recent paper “Binarity as the Origin of Long Secondary Periods of Red Giant Stars” https://arxiv.org/abs/2103.12748
The proposed explanation is an orbiting stellar or sub-stellar body with a tail of dust and gas pulled from the red giant, as determined by a study of about 350 (out of 16000) candidates.
P.S. Unfortunately, the handful of stars referenced directly in the paper all seem to be in the LMC.
Selden