In stars $1.5$ times the mass of the Sun or greater, at what core temperature does the CNO cycle contribute equally to the energy output as the pp chain?
Answer
When the core temperature hits $18 ext{ MK}$
For significantly more massive stars, the CNO cycle becomes increasingly dominant due to its higher sensitivity to temperature. When the core temperature reaches $18$ million K in a $1.5 ext{ M}_ ext{sun}$ star, the energy output splits evenly between the CNO cycle and the pp chain.
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