Recent results on the 12C+12C reactions

摘要

The set of fusion reactions 12C+12C play a critical role in several astrophysical processes. In a recent experiment, the fusion reactions 12C+12C have been studied at ECM = 2.10 to 4.75 MeV by -ray spectroscopy using a C target of ultra-low hydrogen contamination. The deduced astrophysical (E) factor exhibits previously unknown resonances at E3.0 MeV, in particular a strong and narrow resonance at E = 2.14 MeV, the high-energy tail of the Gamow peak. Current extrapolations of the reaction rate, which assume that the astrophysical (E) factor varies smoothly with energy within the Gamow window, are thus subject to significant uncertainty.