Neutron cross section according to its neutron cross section and how it reacts to an incident neutron. Nuclides that tend to absorb a neutron and either decay or keep the neutron in its nucleus are neutron absorbers and will have a "capture cross section" for that reaction. Isotopes that fission, are fissionable fuels and have a corresponding "fission cross section". The remaining isotopes will simply scatter the neutron, and have a "scatter cross section". Some isotopes, like uranium-238, have nonzero cross sections of all three. Isotopes which have a large scatter cross section and a low mass are good neutron moderators (see chart
Horizontal branch occur for 10% or more of post-AGB stars, although it is thought that only particularly late thermal pulses create extreme horizontal-branch stars, after the planetary nebular phase and when the central star is already cooling towards a white dwarf. Globular cluster CMDs generally show horizontal branches that have a prominent gap in the HB. This gap in the CMD incorrectly suggests that the cluster has no stars in this region of its CMD. The gap occurs at the instability strip, so many stars in this region pulsate. These pulsating horizontal-branch stars are known as RR Lyrae variable stars and they