An important explanation for this process is a resonance energy state for the product near 7.7 MeV.
An important explanation for this process is a resonance energy state for the product near 7.7 MeV. It is the first reaction to fall out of equilibrium at the high temperatures of a supernova shock front, and helps explain the brightness of some non-main-sequence stars not covered by two related processes. A key intermediate in this process is a beryllium-8 atom, and the final product is stabilized by the release of a gamma ray. This process drives the rapid burning of helium known as the "helium flash" in lower-mass giants, and this process is responsible for stellar nucleosynthesis as it can produce elements above atomic mass 12, a fact which was elucidated by Fred Hoyle. The main source of energy in red giants, for 10 points, name this process in which helium nuclei join to form carbon, sometimes named after Edwin Salpeter. 
An important explanation for this process is a resonance energy state for the product near 7.7 MeV.
{triple alpha} process [accept {Salpeter Process} before end]