f3ar3dlegend wrote:
It would never drift astray:
The gravity from the star is pulling it inward, and the star is pushing (itself) outward. Only when it is in the center will the forces be balanced and allow the ring to stay intact. The ring would never move because if it did, it would offset the balance of the star's gravity and its force and ultimately destroy itself. You would need a massive amount of force to push the ring out of it's position around a star.
This is true of a sphere (look for physics models of Dyson Spheres) but not a ring structure. The ring, when subjected to other forces (solar winds, impacts by other objects) without active compensation, would build up oscillations and start moving like a hula hoop around the star. Eventually it would move off center enough for the star to impact the ring.