If a star's interior composition was significantly altered by the CNO cycle, what enrichment will the resulting nebula show?
Answer
Strong enrichment in nitrogen compared to initial composition
The CNO cycle is a specific set of nuclear reactions that utilizes carbon and oxygen as catalysts to convert hydrogen into helium, but its critical byproduct in this context is the alteration of the carbon and oxygen abundance. When a star evolves through a phase where its interior composition is significantly altered by this cycle, carbon and oxygen are effectively converted into nitrogen. Consequently, the material subsequently expelled in the outer layers and observed in the resulting nebula will show a marked enrichment in nitrogen relative to what the star started with or what would be expected from purely primordial material.
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