What are neon burns?
Neon Burning is a nuclear reaction that occurs at the core of massive stars (8 solar materials or higher) at the end of their lives. It converts neons to oxygen and magnesium atoms, releases light and heat in the process. The neon burning is so fast that this occurs only over a few years, blinking an eye in astrophysics, where time periods are usually measured in millions or billions of years. Neon combustion occurs after carbon burning and oxygen before burning.
For most of the life of the star, the hydrogen slowly burns in its nucleus and connects the hydrogen core to the helium core and slowly increases the percentage of helium in its core. If the star is massive enough, he begins to combine helium in the process of triple alpha, leaving the main sequence and becoming a giant star. If the star has an even greater weight, it will start combining helium into the carbon, which is a process that lasts only about 1000 years.
What happens, separates the really massive stars from smaller ones. If a star has less than about 8 solar masses, it will eject most of itsenvelopes over the solar wind and leave oxygen/neon/magnesium white dwarf. If it has more, the core condenses the size, heats up and starts the neon burning. Neon combustion requires temperatures in the range of 1.2 x 10
9 K and pressures around 4 × 10
9 kg/m
Above the neon burning core, carbon burning, helium burning and hydrogen burning continue in the shells located at a progressive distance from the core. Neon combustion is fundamentally relying on photodisintegration - a process that creates gamma rays of extreme energy, and the atomic cores of the impact so strongly that protons and neutrons, or even break the nucleus. The core of the dying star, photodisintegration of Kleealf particles (helium core) from the neon nucleus, producing oxygen and alpha particles as by -products. Energy particlesThe alpha then connects to the neon cores to create magnesium.
Over time, the star uses its neon again and the core condenses when the burning of oxygen begins. If the star is constantly burning heavier and heavier cores, it will eventually reach iron that cannot be ignited in a sustainable way, and the core collapse occurs, followed by a supernova.