Solar hydrogen and helium-3 abundance profiles

ID: solar-hydrogen-and-helium-3-abundance-profiles

Present solar hydrogen is most depleted in the central burning region and rises toward the envelope. helium-3 is efficiently destroyed in the hot centre, increases outward as its equilibrium abundance rises, and develops an off-centre maximum where equilibration becomes slow. Still farther out its production becomes weak, leaving a smaller envelope abundance. Convective mixing tends to flatten the outer profiles. This qualitative pattern is not itself a quantitative solar model.

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