Coulomb screening correction to the Q value of the triple-alpha process in thermal plasmas

Autor(es)

Phyu, Lai Hnin ; Moriya, H. ^[1] ; Horiuchi, W. ^[1] ; Iida, K. ^[2] ; Noda, K. ^[2] ; Yamashita, M. T. ^[3]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Lai Hnin Phyu, Hokkaido Univ, Dept Phys, Sapporo, Hokkaido 0600810 - Japan

^[2] Kochi Univ, Dept Math & Phys, Kochi 7808520 - Japan

^[3] Univ Estadual Paulista, Inst Fis Teor, UNESP, Rua Dr Bento Teobaldo Ferraz 271, Bloco 2, BR-01140070 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: PROGRESS OF THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL PHYSICS; v. 2020, n. 9 SEP 2020.
• Citações Web of Science: 3

Resumo

The triple-alpha reaction is key to C production and is expected to occur in weakly coupled thermal plasmas as encountered in normal stars. We investigate how Coulomb screening affects the structure of a system of three alpha particles in such a plasma environment by precise three-body calculations within the Debye-Huckel approximation. A three-alpha model that has the Coulomb interaction modified in the Yukawa form is employed. Precise three-body wave functions are obtained by a superposition of correlated Gaussian basis with the aid of the stochastic variational method. The energy shifts of the Hoyle state due to the Coulomb screening are obtained as a function of the Debye screening length. The results, which automatically incorporate the finite-size effect of the Hoyle state, are consistent with the conventional result based on the Coulomb correction to the chemical potentials of ions that are regarded as point charges in a weakly coupled thermal plasma. We have given a theoretical basis to the conventional point-charge approach to the Coulomb screening problem relevant for nuclear reactions in normal stars by providing the first evaluation of the Coulomb corrections to the value of the triple-alpha process that produces a finite-size Hoyle state. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 19/00153-8 - Efeitos dimensionais na física de poucos corpos em um ambiente de muito corpos
• Beneficiário: Marcelo Takeshi Yamashita
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular