Question

What happens after a helium flash?

• A. The core quickly heats up and expands.
• B. The star breaks apart in a violent explosion.
• C. The core suddenly contracts.
• D. The core stops fusing helium.

Answer 1

The correct option is A The core quickly heats up and expands.

A helium flash is a very brief thermal runaway nuclear fusion of large quantities of helium into carbon through the triple-alpha process in the core of low mass stars (between 0.8 solar masses ( M ) and 2.0 M ) during their red giant phase . This results in heating up the core and expansion of the core takes place as a result