THERMODYNAMIC ENHANCEMENT OF NUCLEAR-REACTIONS IN DENSE STELLAR MATTER

An enhancement in the rates of nuclear reactions in dense matter is ap proached through calculations of increments between the Coulombic chem ical potentials before and after the reactions. The formalism is appli ed to specific cases of the p-p reactions in the solar interior and of the C-12-C-12 reactions in a white-dwarf progenitor of a supernova; t he dependence of the resultant enhancement factors on the relative abu ndances of the elements in the outgoing channels is thereby illustrate d. The effects of plasma screening in the p-p reactions on the solar B -8 neutrinos are examined.