Stellar Formation and

Evolution
Big Bang Theory proposes that due to the expansion of universe,
hydrogen and helium were produced. As the years go by, these light
elements (hydrogen and helium) condensed and formed stars, including
the sun. Over millions of years, the stars made of hydrogen became
hotter and denser. With these occurrence, stellar nucleosynthesis started.
Stellar nucleosynthesis

is the process by which elements

are formed within stars by
nuclear reactions. The
abundances of these elements
change as the stars evolve.
Evolution of Stars
The theory which suggests that stars form due to the collapse of the
dense regions of an atomic cloud is known as the star formation
theory. As the cloud collapses, the fragments contract to form a stellar
core called protostar. The protostar contracts and its temperature
increases due to strong gravitational force. Nuclear reactions begin,
when the core temperature reaches about 10 million K. The reactions
release positrons, and neutrinos which increase pressure and stop the
contraction. When the contraction stops, the gravitational equilibrium is
reached, and the protostar becomes a main sequence star.
 Hydrogen is fused into helium in the
core of a main sequence star through
the proton-proton chain. When most of
the hydrogen in the core is fused into
helium, the fusion stops, and the
pressure in the core decreases. Gravity
squeezes the star to a point that helium
and hydrogen burning occur. Helium
converts to carbon in the core while
hydrogen is changed to helium in the
shell surrounding the core. The star
becomes a red giant.
 The rate of fusion decreases when most
of the helium in the core has been
converted to carbon, which resulted in
the squeezing of stars. Carbon fusion
will not occur in a low-mass star (with
mass less than twice the Sun’s mass)
because there is no enough mass. As a
result, there is a depletion of the star’s
fuel, and over time, the outer material of
the star is blown off into space. Due to
this, only the hot and inert carbon core
remained, and eventually, the star
becomes a white dwarf.
 On the other hand, carbon fusion can occur in
massive stars because they have enough mass
wherein there is an increase in temperature and
pressure. Through a series of stages, a star was
able to fused heavier elements in the core and in
the shells around it. The element oxygen is formed
from carbon fusion; neon from oxygen fusion;
magnesium from neon fusion: silicon from
magnesium fusion; and iron from silicon fusion.
The star becomes a multiple-shell red giant.
 As the elements continues to fuse, iron is made (by silicon
fusion). Two elements (lighter than iron) can now combine to
produce a nucleus with a mass lower than the sum of their
masses. The missing mass is released as energy during the
fusion of elements lighter than iron. However, if two iron
nuclei fused together, they need an input of energy. Therefore,
massive stars can produce light elements up to element iron
except for elements heavier than iron. The core of red giant
stars starts to collapse when it can no longer produce enough
pressure to resist gravity. Then it leads to the explosion of
stars, which releases a large amount of energy and produces
other elements heavier than iron. This violent explosion is
called a supernova.
Pieces of Evidence
The discovery of the interstellar medium of gas and dust
provided a crucial piece of evidence to support the star
formation theory. The study of the different stages of
formation that happen in different areas in space. These
pieces of evidence are put together to form a clear
picture.
The Nuclear Fusion Reactions in Stars
Stellar nucleosynthesis is the process by which elements are
formed in the cores and shells of the stars through nuclear
fusion reactions. Nuclear fusion is a type of reaction that fuses
lighter elements to form heavier ones. It requires very high
temperatures and pressures. It is the reaction that fuels the stars
since stars have very high temperatures and pressures in their
cores. Hydrogen is the lightest element and the most abundant
in the universe. Thus, the formation of heavier elements starts
with hydrogen. Hydrogen burning is the stellar process that
produces energy in the stars. There are two dominant hydrogen
burning processes, the proton-proton chain and
carbon-nitrogen-oxygen (CNO) cycle
Proton-Proton Chain
The proton-proton chain is a series of
thermonuclear reactions in the stars. It is the main
source of energy radiated by the sun and other
stars. It happens due to the large kinetic energies
of the protons. If the kinetic energies of the
protons are high enough to overcome their
electrostatic repulsion, then proton-proton chain
proceeds.
The sequence proceeds as follows:
1. The chain starts when two protons fuse.
When the fused proton breaks, one proton
is transmuted into a neutron.
2. The proton and neutron then pairs, forming
an isotope of hydrogen called deuterium.
3. Another proton collides with a deuterium
forming a helium-3 nucleus and a gamma ray.
4. Finally, two helium-3 nuclei collide, and a
helium-4 is created with the release of two
protons.
TRIPLE ALPHA PROCESS

The combination or fusion of three alpha

4
particles (helium nuclei He) to form a
12
carbon nucleus ( C) is known as the triple
alpha process.
The fusion process is not at all simple since there
does not exist a stable configuration with an
atomic mass of 8 (8Be) that is formed by the
fusion of two 4He nuclei. The lifetime of 8Be is a
very short 3 × 10-16 seconds.
Carbon-Nitrogen-Oxygen (CNO) Cycle

For more massive and hotter stars, the carbon-nitrogen-oxygen cycle is

the more favorable route in converting hydrogen to helium.
The cycle proceeds as follows:
1. Carbon-12 captures a proton and gives off a gamma ray, producing
a n unstable nitrogen-13.
2. Nitrogen-13 undergoes beta decay to form carbon-13.
3. Carbon-13 captures a proton and releases a gamma ray to become
nitrogen-14.
4. Nitrogen-14 then captures another proton and releases a gamma ray to
produce oxygen-15.
5. Oxygen-15 undergoes beta decay and becomes nitrogen-15.
6. Finally, nitrogen-15 captures a proton and gives off helium (alpha
particle) ending the cycle and returning to carbon-12.
The fusion reactions cannot produce nuclei higher than iron-56 because
fusion reaction becomes unfavorable. This is because the nuclear
binding energy per nucleon, the energy that holds the nucleus intact,
decreases after iron-56. Therefore, different pathways are needed for the
synthesis of heavier nuclei.
Synthesis of heavier nuclei happens via neutron or proton capture
processes.
In neutron capture, a neutron is added to a seed nucleus. The addition
of neutron produces a heavier isotope of the element.
For Slow neutron capture or s-process happens when there is a small
number of neutrons.
Rapid neutron capture or r-process, on the other hand, happens when
there is a large number of a neutron
DISCOVERIE
S
Moseley’s X-ray Spectroscopy
Henry Gyn-Jeffreys Moseley was an English physicist who concluded
that most of the properties of an element can be determined on its
atomic number (number of protons in an atom). He studied radioactivity
in Ernest Rutherford’s laboratory but later decided to explore more on
X-rays.
As he continued his study, he measured the x-ray spectral lines of an
element as he bombarded a beam of electrons to different elements to
determine its atomic number. He then believed that frequency of the
X-rays given off by an element was mathematically related to the
position of that element in the Periodic table. With this study, he was
able to published a paper (1913) on the arrangement of the elements in
the Periodic table based on their atomic numbers.
Discovery of Nuclear Transmutation
In 1919, Ernest Rutherford carried out a reaction in which one element
was transformed into another element. In the reaction, alpha particles were
bombarded from radium directed to the nitrogen nuclei.
He showed that the nitrogen nuclei reacted to the alpha particles formed
some oxygen nuclei. This reaction is called nuclear transmutation.
The nuclear transmutation was successfully done but both the alpha
particles and atomic nuclei are positively charged, so they tend to repel
each other. Because of this, atomic nuclei are often bombarded with
neutrons (neutral particles) in particle accelerators in synthesizing new
elements.
The Discovery of the Missing Elements
In 1925, there were four gaps in the periodic table
corresponding to the atomic numbers 43, 61, 85, and 87.
Using particle accelerators, two of these elements were
synthesized in the laboratory. Particle accelerator is a
device used to synthesize new elements using magnetic
and electrical fields. It speeds up the protons to overcome
the repulsion between the protons and the target atomic
nuclei.
In 1937, Ernest Lawrence
bombarded molybdenum (Z=42) with fast-moving neutrons in a linear
accelerator and he was able to create element with atomic number 43 which
was named as Technetium. It was the first artificially created element and t
Astatine (element with atomic number 85) was first produced in 1940 by
Dale Corson, K. Mackenzie and Emilio Segre. It was synthesized by
bombarding bismuth with fast-moving alpha particles in a cyclotron. The
scientists found that the isotope they created was radioactive, so they
named the element using the Greek ‘astatos’ meaning unstable.
Promethium (element 61) was recovered from the leftovers of uranium
fission while Francium (element 87) was discovered as a breakdown
product of uranium.
Synthesis of New Elements
Neptunium was first produced by Edwin McMillan and Philip Abelson in
1940. They used particle accelerator to bombard uranium with neutrons and they
were able to show chemically that they had produced neptunium, which has a
half-life of just 2-3 days.
Dr. Glenn Seaborg, Edwin McMillan, Joseph Kennedy, and Arthur Wahl
was able to create the element 94 which is the Plutonium by deuteron (particles
composed of a proton and a neutron) bombardment of uranium in a cyclotron.
Transuranium elements are element with atomic numbers greater than 92.
Hence, neptunium and plutonium are both transuranium elements. All these
elements were discovered in the laboratory and are prepared using nuclear
reactors or particle accelerators.
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