For stars in the low-to-intermediate mass range (up to $\approx 8 M_\odot$), what process follows the exhaustion of core helium fusion?
Answer
Initiating fusion of helium in a shell around a carbon-oxygen core, leading to the AGB phase
Low-mass stars lack the gravity to ignite carbon fusion. After helium depletion, they contract again and fuse helium in a shell around the inert carbon-oxygen core, entering the luminous Asymptotic Giant Branch phase.
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