Triple-alpha process
= Triple-alpha process
{c}
{wiki}
The triple-alpha process fuses three helium-4 nuclei into carbon-12 through an unstable beryllium-8 intermediate. Its steep temperature dependence can make helium-shell burning thermally unstable. The <resonant triple-alpha temperature sensitivity> isolates the role of the <Hoyle state>, while <laboratory evidence for the Hoyle state> explains how a particle spectrum tests the required nuclear level.