Gamow peak in thermonuclear reactions at high temperatures
Journal Article
·
· Physical Review. C, Nuclear Physics
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-3255 (United States)
- CSNSM, CNRS/IN2P3/UPS, Bat. 104, F-91405 Orsay Campus (France)
- Department of Physics, University of Cyprus, Nicosia 1678 (Cyprus)
The Gamow peak represents one of the most important concepts in the study of thermonuclear reactions in stars. It is widely used in order to determine, at a given plasma temperature, the effective stellar energy region in which most charged-particle induced nuclear reactions occur. It is of importance in the design of nuclear astrophysics measurements, including those involving radioactive ion beams, and for the determination of stellar reaction rates. We demonstrate that the Gamow peak concept breaks down under certain conditions if a nuclear reaction proceeds through narrow resonances at elevated temperatures. It is shown that an effective stellar energy window does indeed exist in which most thermonuclear reactions take place at a given temperature, but that this energy window can differ significantly from the commonly used Gamow peak. We expect that these findings are especially important for thermonuclear reactions in the advanced burning stages of massive stars and in explosive stellar environments.
- OSTI ID:
- 20995236
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review. C, Nuclear Physics, Journal Name: Physical Review. C, Nuclear Physics Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 75; ISSN 0556-2813; ISSN PRVCAN
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Matching of experimental and statistical-model thermonuclear reaction rates at high temperatures
An Improved Reaction Rate Formulation for Charged-Particle Induced Thermonuclear Reaction of {sup 2}H(d,{gamma}){sup 4}He
Numerical calculations of the thermonuclear explosion of a degenerate carbon stellar core
Journal Article
·
Fri Aug 15 00:00:00 EDT 2008
· Physical Review. C, Nuclear Physics
·
OSTI ID:21192157
An Improved Reaction Rate Formulation for Charged-Particle Induced Thermonuclear Reaction of {sup 2}H(d,{gamma}){sup 4}He
Journal Article
·
Wed Mar 30 00:00:00 EDT 2011
· AIP Conference Proceedings
·
OSTI ID:21511561
Numerical calculations of the thermonuclear explosion of a degenerate carbon stellar core
Journal Article
·
Sun May 01 00:00:00 EDT 1977
· Sov. Astron. AJ (Engl. Transl.); (United States)
·
OSTI ID:5185518