A High-Mass Star near the End of Its Life Undergoes

question 67

Multiple Choice

A high-mass star near the end of its life undergoes successive cycles of energy generation in its core in which gravitational collapse increases the temperature to the point where a new nuclear fusion cycle generates sufficient energy to stop the collapse. This process does not work beyond the silicon-fusion cycle that produces iron. Explain.

• A) The pressure from high-energy photons and neutrinos at the very high core temperatures reached at this stage of development is finally sufficient to halt the collapse.
• B) Electrostatic forces between the highly charged iron nuclei are sufficient to overcome the collapse and stabilize the stellar core.
• C) Fusion of iron nuclei into heavier nuclei requires energy rather than producing excess energy and therefore will not produce the additional gas pressure to halt the collapse.
• D) Iron nuclei are so large that they occupy all remaining space, so the collapse cannot continue.

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Definitions:

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