Astrophysical Reaction Rate of 12 C(α, γ) 16 O

Abstract

A new astrophysical reaction rate of 12C(α, γ)16O has been calculated based on our recent determination of the E1- and E2-capture cross sections. The R-matrix method has been applied to describe the SE1- and SE2-factor functions as well as the data of elastic α scattering and the β-delayed α decay of 16N from other experiments. The resulting reaction rate for stellar temperatures of T9=0.04-10 is presented in both tabular form and an analytic expression. A new temperature dependence of the reaction rate was obtained when compared with reported evaluations. The associated uncertainties were reduced considerably in comparison to previous determinations.