Temperature dependence of modified CNO nuclear reaction rates in dense stellar plasmas

F Ferro, A Lavagno and P Quarati

Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 2004, vol. 340, issue 1, 477-482

Abstract: We study the dependence of the CNO nuclear reaction rates on temperature, in the range of 107–108K, the typical range of temperature evolution from a Sun-like star towards a white dwarf. We show that the temperature dependence of the CNO nuclear reaction rates is strongly affected by the presence of non-extensive statistical effects in the dense stellar core. A very small deviation from the Maxwell–Boltzmann particle distribution implies a relevant enhancement of the CNO reaction rate and could explain the presence of heavier elements (e.g. Fe, Mg) in the final composition of a white dwarf core. Such a behavior is consistent with the recent experimental upper limit to the fraction of energy that the Sun produces via the CNO fusion cycle.

Keywords: Non-extensive distribution function; Weakly non-ideal plasma; Nuclear reaction rates (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2004
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:phsmap:v:340:y:2004:i:1:p:477-482

DOI: 10.1016/j.physa.2004.04.043

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