Same as Fig. 7 but for three stellar models of our grid after the second compactness increase. Here, neon burning is fully neutrino-dominated and radiative, and not visible in the figure. After convective core oxygen burning (hatched region in the center) the degenerate core region reaches up to the oxygen burning front (at the base of the convective oxygen-burning shell) for all models. Panel c: When this front exceeds the (effective) Chandrasekhar mass, the degenerate core contracts and core silicon burning ignites earlier, slowing the contraction of the layers above and affecting the extent of the convective region.