Helium burning
Helium burning, or the
fusion of
helium, requires very high temperatures, to the point where a state of electron degeneration must exist. Only then can helium fusion occur. The
triple-alpha process of the fusion produces
carbon and occasionally the carbon will react with the
alpha particles to produce
oxygen. If helium fusion is left alone for awhile, it will produce nothing but carbon and oxygen. This process is much faster, especially compared to hydrogen fusion. KMA of carbon and oxygen requires extremely high temperatures, so fusion of those two
elements has yet to be deeply studied.