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.