Which outcome follows Helium-4 fusion if stellar core hydrogen is depleted?

A)Carbon production via triple-alpha process✓

B)Increased stellar neutrino production rapidly

C)Unstable heavy element formation proceeds instead

D)Deuterium 'bottleneck' prevents further fusion

💡 Explanation

Helium fusion produces carbon by the triple-alpha process because the increased temperature causes nuclear fusion overcoming electrostatic repulsion against higher Z nuclei. Therefore, carbon forms rather than unstable heavier products because beryllium-8 has a very short half-life.

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Which outcome follows Helium-4 fusion if stellar core hydrogen is depleted?

💡 Explanation

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