PHYSICS · Subjective · Fermi University Physics · Nuclear Physics · Nuclear astrophysics and applications · Nuclear astrophysics and applications
Stars from the Inside, Ch Thermonuclear energy generation: reaction rates, burning stages and the elements they make
Problem
For the reaction p+16O at T=2.0×107K, the Gamow energy is EG=59.4MeV. Someone argues: "The Gamow peak is where the reacting particles are most likely to have their energy, so it sits at the most probable thermal energy, E0=kBT. Here kBT=1.723keV, so E0=1.723keV. Then τ=3E0/kBT=3, and ν=(τ−2)/3=1/3, so this reaction has an almost flat temperature dependence." Find the error in this reasoning and give the correct value of ν at this temperature.