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Published September 1967 | public
Journal Article

Thermonuclear Reaction Rates

Abstract

Modern computer technology has revolutionized theoretical calculations on stellar structure and stellar evolution. Physical information of great complexity, previously ignored or crudely treated, can now be introduced in detail into stellar computations and can be treated with great precision and completeness. In particular it is no longer necessary (Iben 1965, Wagoner, Fowler & Hoyle 1967) to approximate hard-won laboratory results on nuclear reaction rates by crude power-law dependences on temperature. In this article we review the available experimental data on cross sections for the nuclear interactions of neutrons, protons, and alpha particles with a number of light and intermediate-mass nuclei and we present calculations on the resulting reaction rates, nuclear lifetimes, and energy generation rates under astrophysical conditions. We restrict our considerations to nondegenerate, nonrelativistic circumstances for the interacting nuclei. Table I lists the general nuclear processes discussed, along with the units used in presenting numerical results and the notation used in representing nuclear reactions. Previous reviews of nuclear reaction rates, somewhat more limited in scope, have been given by Fowler (1954, 1960) , Burbidge, Burbidge, Fowler & Hoyle (1957) (hereafter referred to as B^2FH), Caughlan & Fowler (1962), and Parker, Bahcall & Fowler (1964). The last previous overall survey of nuclear reaction rates which has come to our attention is that of Reeves (1965).

Additional Information

© 1967 Annual Reviews. The survey of literature for this review was concluded in December 1966. Work supported in part by the Office of Naval Research [Nonr-220(47)] and the National Science Foundation [GP-5391] at the California Institute of Technology. Work supported in part by the National Science Foundation [GP-4693 and GP-6309] at Montana State University.

Additional details

Created:
August 19, 2023
Modified:
October 23, 2023