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Glossary
The CNO Cycle
While on the Main Sequence
the primary nuclear reactions within the core of Sun
involve the conversion of
hydrogen (1H) to Helium (4He)
(and "by-products").
The CNO cycle is an independent route to the
PP Chains
possible when the star contains a significant amount of
Carbon (12C) . There are two routes,
both following the same initial steps:
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12C + 1H
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converted to |
13N + photon
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13N
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converted to |
13C + e+ + nue
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13C + 1H
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converted to |
14N + photon
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14N + 1H
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converted to |
150 + photon
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150
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converted to |
15N + e+ + nue
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(where e+ is a positron and nue
is an electron-neutrino).
However hereafter there are two possible routes, the first obviously being
the dominant one:
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(99.96% probable)
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15N + 1H
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converted to |
12C + 4He
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-
(0.04% probable)
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15He + 1H
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converted to |
16O + photon
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16He + 1H
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converted to |
17F + photon
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17F
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converted to |
170 + e+ nee
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17O + 1H
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converted to |
14N + 4He
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