2021/05/07 by Lai Hnin Phyu, Phyu, Lai Hnin, H. Moriya +9
Physics and Astronomy · #Atomic and Molecular Physics #Advanced Chemical Physics Studies #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2105.03031
The first excited Jπ=0+ state of 12C, the so-called Hoyle state, plays an essential role in a triple-α (4He) reaction, which is a main contributor to the synthesis of 12C in a burning star. We investigate the Coulomb screening effects on the energy shift of the Hoyle state in a thermal plasma environment using precise three-α model calculations. The Coulomb screening effect between α clusters are taken into account within the Debye-Hückel approximation. To generalize our study, we utilize two standard α-cluster models, which treat the Pauli principle between the α particles differently. We find that the energy shifts do not depend on these models and follow a simple estimation in the zero-size limit of the Hoyle state when the Coulomb screening length is as large as a value typical of such a plasma consisting of electrons and α particles.