Astrophysical Importance of the Reaction $C^{12}$ + $O^{16}$

The nuclear reactions between

C^{12}

and

O^{16}

are shown to be vitally important during explosive oxygen burning because they regulate the number of

α

particles produced per

{Si}^{28}

nucleus. Since it appears that explosive oxygen burning produces the observed abundances of the nuclei between

{Si}^{28}

and

{Ca}^{42}

, the value of the

C^{12}

O^{16}

total reaction cross section will help determine the nature of the explosions that have produced the elements.

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Astrophysical Importance of the ReactionC12+O16