Deep sub-barrier fusion reactions of the light nuclei 12C and 16O Original Research Article

Fusion reactions relevant for the carbon and oxygen burning cycles in highly evolved stars are investigated in a standard approach to fusion. We employ the double folding method to evaluate the ion-ion interactions with Gogny-D1 and M3Y-Paris n – n effective forces. The cross-section evaluation do not indicate a possible hindrance even at the lowest energies under the barrier. Reaction rates at temperatures relevant for the stellar processes are estimated and compared to the traditional and modern extrapolation formulas.