What element is the final stage element produced by a low-mass, Sun-like star's fusion process?

Answer

Carbon or oxygen.

Stars comparable in mass to our Sun do not possess the necessary gravitational force or core temperatures to compress matter enough to initiate fusion reactions beyond carbon and oxygen. For these lower-mass stars, hydrogen fuses into helium, and subsequently, the resulting helium fuses into carbon and oxygen. Once the helium fuel in the core is depleted, the star contracts, but it cannot reach the conditions required for fusing carbon further. Consequently, these stars shed their outer layers and settle into a remnant state as a white dwarf, enriching the galaxy primarily with carbon and oxygen, rather than the iron found in more massive stellar deaths.

What element is the final stage element produced by a low-mass, Sun-like star's fusion process?

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