Related papers: An update on fine-tunings in the triple-alpha proc…
Carbon is produced during the helium burning phase of sufficiently massive stars through the triple alpha process. The $0^+$ energy level of the carbon nucleus allows for resonant nuclear reactions, which act to greatly increase the carbon…
We present an ab initio calculation of the quark mass dependence of the ground state energies of ^4He, ^8Be and ^{12}C, and of the energy of the Hoyle state in ^{12}C. These investigations are performed within the framework of lattice…
The Hoyle state plays a crucial role in the hydrogen burning of stars heavier than our sun and in the production of carbon and other elements necessary for life. This excited state of the carbon-12 nucleus was postulated by Hoyle [1] as a…
We show that the synthesis of carbon and oxygen through the triple-alpha process in red giant stars is extremely sensitive to the fine details of the nucleon-nucleon (N-N) interaction. A +/-0.5% change in the strength of the N-N force would…
In a sufficiently hot and dense astrophysical environment the rate of the triple-alpha (3alpha) reaction can increase greatly over the value appropriate for helium burning stars owing to hadronically induced de-excitation of the Hoyle…
The Hoyle state plays a crucial role in the helium burning of stars that have reached the red giant stage. The close proximity of this state to the triple-alpha threshold is needed for the production of carbon, oxygen, and other elements…
The triple alpha reaction is a key to $^{12}$C production and is expected to occur in weakly-coupled, thermal plasmas as encountered in normal stars. We investigate how Coulomb screening affects the structure of a system of three alpha…
A variation of the fundamental constants is expected to affect the thermonuclear rates important for stellar nucleosynthesis. In particular, because of the very small resonant energies of Be8 and C12, the triple $\alpha$ process is…
In this short review, I discuss the sensitivity of the generation of the light and the life-relevant elements like carbon and oxygen under changes of the parameters of the Standard Model pertinent to nuclear physics. Chiral effective field…
Through the triple-alpha process occurring in red giant stars the bulk of the carbon existing in our universe is produced. We calculated the change of the triple-alpha reaction rate for slight variations of the nucleon-nucleon force using a…
The excited state of the 12C nucleus known as the "Hoyle state" constitutes one of the most interesting, difficult and timely challenges in nuclear physics, as it plays a key role in the production of carbon via fusion of three alpha…
We discuss the fine-tunings of nuclear reactions in the Big Bang and in stars and draw some conclusions on the emergence of the light elements and the life-relevant elements carbon and oxygen. We also stress how to improve these…
Through the triple-alpha process practically all of the carbon in our universe is synthesized as the ash of helium burning in red giants. The triple-alpha process proceeds trough the ground state of 8Be and though the 02+-state in 12C. We…
Motivated by the possible existence of other universes, this paper considers the evolution of massive stars with different values for the fundamental constants. We focus on variations in the triple alpha resonance energy and study its…
The partcle-induced hadronic de-excitation of the Hoyle state in $^{12}$C induced by inelastic scattering in a hot and dense plasma can enhance the triple-alpha reaction rate. This prevents the production of heavy nuclei within the…
We study atomic systems that are in the frequency range of optical atomic clocks and have enhanced sensitivity to potential time-variation of the fine structure constant, alpha. The high sensitivity is due to coherent contributions from…
Accurate knowledge of the thermodynamic properties of zero-temperature, high-density quark matter plays an integral role in attempts to constrain the behavior of the dense QCD matter found inside neutron-star cores, irrespective of the…
Stellar carbon synthesis occurs exclusively via the $3\alpha$ process, in which three $\alpha$ particles fuse to form $^{12}$C in the excited Hoyle state, followed by electromagnetic decay to the ground state. The Hoyle state is above the…
We review the calculation of the Hoyle state of $^{12}$C in Nuclear Lattice Effective Field Theory (NLEFT) and its anthropic implications for the nucleosynthesis of $^{12}$C and $^{16}$O in red giant stars. We also review the extension of…
Motivated by the possible existence of other universes, with different values for the fundamental constants, this paper considers stellar models in universes where $^8$Be is stable. Many previous authors have noted that stars in our…