THERMONUCLEAR REACTION RATES OF DENSE CARBON-OXYGEN MIXTURES IN WHITE DWARFS

Screening potentials between ions in dense C-O mixtures appropriate to white-dwarf interiors are analyzed by Monte Carlo simulation method, both in a fluid and in a bcc-crystalline state. Criteria for the validity of a classical approximation in the screening potential are derived; it is shown that the classical approximation applies only in a fluid state for a C matter. Enhancement rate of nuclear reactions in a dense C-O fluid is calculated.