Question

What would eventually happen if the Sun's core were suddenly heated slightly above its current temperature?

(a) The density of the core would decrease, causing the core to cool down and expand until it stabilized at a new, larger size.
(b) The core would heat up, causing it to release so much energy that it would shrink even more.
(c) The core would first expand and cool off and be heated less by nuclear reactions; then it would slowly contract and heat up to its current size and temperature.
(d) The core would cool, the pressure would fall, and gravity would crush the core until it became a black hole.
(e) The expansion of the core would mean it would generate more energy overall, causing the Sun to become a red giant.

Answer 1

The Sun's core would expand and cool down due to increased thermal energy, then contract and heat up due to compression, re-establishing hydrostatic equilibrium without becoming a black hole or a red giant.

Step-by-step explanation:

If the Sun's core were suddenly heated slightly above its current temperature of approximately 15 million K, we would expect a few things to take place based on the principles of star mechanics and hydrostatic equilibrium. The increased temperature would cause the core to expand slightly due to increased pressure from the higher thermal energy. However, this expansion would reduce the core's density and thus the temperature would lower somewhat, resulting in a decrease in the rate of nuclear fusion reactions. The core would then cool down and contract until hydrostatic equilibrium was re-established. As the core contracts, it would heat up due to compression until the fusion rate returns to its original state. This process posits a self-correcting mechanism, where the core would stabilize itself without becoming a black hole or reaching the stage of a red giant.