Enhancement of Nuclear Reaction Rates in Dense Stellar Matter: A Path-Integral Monte Carlo Simulation Study

摘要

The rate of nuclear reactions, which is proportional to the tunnel-contact probabilities of a reacting pair of nuclei, is enhanced significantly in dense stellar matter by the many-body correlations of the surrounding nuclei. Path-integral Monte Carlo (PIMC) calculations for the contact probabilities of a tunneling pair in a dense Coulomb liquid of nuclei, an accurate model for the matter in the interiors and surfaces of white dwarfs and neutron stars, are performed to investigate quantum effects of the surrounding nuclei. We thereby show that the probabilities are enhanced significantly by the wave-mechanical spreading of the surrounding nuclei. The mechanisms for such enhancement are investigated.