Round 10: Tossup 16

A specific form of this process that occurs for about a day maintains a state of quasi-equilibrium but not true statistical equilibrium. This process defines a stellar timescale whose numerator has a 0.007 (10[1])coefficient, and is around 10-to-the-4th that of the Kelvin–Helmholtz timescale. Different mechanisms for this physical process have temperature dependencies of T-to-the-17 and T-to-the-41. In the Gamow window, this process is enhanced by quantum tunneling (10[1])through (-5[1])the Coulomb barrier. (10[1])This process progressively begins in increasingly outward shells, forming an onion-like structure, (10[1])during evolution of massive stars. This process occurs to hydrogen through the CNO (10[1])cycle (10[2])and the proton–proton (10[1])chain. (10[1])For 10 points, (10[1])name this process that powers stars, in which two nuclei combine to form a larger (10[1])nucleus. (10[1])■END■

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