What distinctive internal structure results from a high-mass star sustaining successive layers of fusion?

Answer

An "onion-skin" structure fusing elements like silicon in concentric layers

The intense gravitational forces within high-mass stars, much greater than those in lower-mass giants, allow them to overcome the energy barrier required to fuse elements heavier than helium. After exhausting core hydrogen and igniting shell burning, the core contracts until it can fuse the resulting helium into carbon and oxygen. This process repeats as each subsequent fuel source is exhausted in the core, leading to nested layers of active fusion occurring simultaneously around an inert center. This configuration is precisely described as an 'onion-skin' structure, where concentric shells successively burn elements such as carbon, neon, oxygen, and silicon, continuing up the periodic table until the core is composed of iron, which cannot release energy through fusion.

What distinctive internal structure results from a high-mass star sustaining successive layers of fusion?

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