Astrophysics (Index)About

proton-proton chain

(PP chain, P-P chain, PP-chain)
(type of fusion reaction chain turning hydrogen into helium)

Proton-proton chain (or PP chain or P-P chain or PP-chain) is a type of a fusion sequence leading from hydrogen to helium (hydrogen burning). Temperatures necessary to trigger it are lower than that required to trigger the other such fusion sequence, the CNO cycle. A PP chain's beginning is 1H nuclei (i.e., protons) colliding and fusing. Following that, there are multiple branches of the chain, each consisting of a sequence of additional reactions that lead to the typical helium isotope, 4He. The proportion of fusion on each branch of the chain depends upon the temperature of the material. In small main sequence stars, such as red dwarfs, proton-proton chain reactions in the stellar core power the star. In large main-sequence stars, the hotter core triggers the CNO cycle, but the proton-proton chain is also present and extends outward beyond the region hot enough for the CNO cycle.


(fusion,nuclear,reaction,nucleosynthesis)
Further reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton-proton_chain_reaction
http://burro.cwru.edu/academics/Astr221/StarPhys/ppchain.html
https://aether.lbl.gov/www/tour/elements/stellar/pp.html
https://www.chemeurope.com/en/encyclopedia/Proton-proton_chain_reaction.html

Referenced by pages:
CNO cycle
deuterium burning
hydrogen burning
lithium burning
main sequence star (MS)
nuclear energy generation rate (ε)
nucleosynthesis
solar neutrino unit (SNU)
stellar core
stellar structure

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