Carbon burning in stars - Prospects for underground measurements of the 12C+12C fusion reactions

Abstract

The 12C+12C fusion reactions are together with the reaction 12C(a,γ)16O the most important nuclear processes in the late stellar evolution. These fusion reactions play a key role in the understanding of various types of astrophysical objects. Thus, a measurement of the 12C+12C cross section at very low energies can serve as flagship experiment for a future underground accelerator laboratory. It is hoped that an appropriate facility for such a study will be created in the near future somewhere in the world. The prospects for the measurement of the carbon fusion reactions will be discussed in the present work. © 2010 IOP Publishing Ltd.