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Description
The mass-luminosity (M-L), mass-radius (M-R), and mass-effective temperature (M-T_eff_) diagrams for a subset of galactic nearby main-sequence stars with masses and radii accurate to {<=}3% and luminosities accurate to {<=}30% (268 stars) has led to a putative discovery. Four distinct mass domains have been identified, which we have tentatively associated with low, intermediate, high, and very high mass main-sequence stars, but which nevertheless are clearly separated by three distinct break points at 1.05, 2.4, and 7M_{sun}_ within the studied mass range of 0.38-32M_{sun}_. Further, a revised mass-luminosity relation (MLR) is found based on linear fits for each of the mass domains identified. The revised, mass-domain based MLRs, which are classical (L{propto}M^{alpha}^), are shown to be preferable to a single linear, quadratic, or cubic equation representing an alternative MLR. Stellar radius evolution within the main sequence for stars with M>1M_{sun}_ is clearly evident on the M-R diagram, but it is not clear on the M-T_eff_ diagram based on published temperatures. Effective temperatures can be calculated directly using the well known Stephan-Boltzmann law by employing the accurately known values of M and R with the newly defined MLRs. With the calculated temperatures, stellar temperature evolution within the main sequence for stars with M>1M_{sun}_ is clearly visible on the M-T_eff_ diagram. Our study asserts that it is now possible to compute the effective temperature of a main-sequence star with an accuracy of ~6%, as long as its observed radius error is adequately small (<1%) and its observed mass error is reasonably small (<6%).
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