What specific process is responsible for creating elements heavier than helium inside a star's interior?
Answer
Nucleosynthesis
Nucleosynthesis is the established term for the process by which stars actively convert lighter atomic nuclei into heavier ones. This formation of elements heavier than the initial helium occurs deep within the star's core, driven by the intense temperatures and pressures sustained during its main sequence life and subsequent evolutionary phases. The observed presence of elements like carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen in stellar remnants is direct physical evidence that this internal nuclear transformation has successfully taken place within the progenitor star.
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