A novel fractal-fractional analysis of the stellar helium burning network using extended operational matrix method

Abstract

Abstract The second stage, in which the star uses nuclear fuel in its interior, represents the helium burning phase. At that stage, three elements are synthesised: carbon, oxygen, and neon. This paper aims to establish a numerical solution for the helium burning system (HBN) fractal-fractional differential equations (FFDEs). The extended operative matrix method (OM) is employed in the solution of a system of differential equations. The product abundances of the four elements (helium, carbon, oxygen and neon) were obtained in a form of divergent series. These divergent series are then accelerated using Euler-Abell transformation (EUAT) and Pade approximation (EUAT-PA) to obtain more reliable results. Nine fractal-fractional (FF) gas models are calculated, and fractal-fractional parameters’ influence on product abundances is discussed. The findings show that modeling nuclear burning networks with the OM fractal-fractional derivative produces excellent results, establishing it as an accurate, resilient, and trustworthy approach, and the fractional HB models can have a considerable impact on stellar model calculations.