A correction to the pp reaction

Abstract

These descriptive comments are made to encourage detailed three-body, relativistic, quantum collision calculations for the pp reaction. In stars, coulomb barrier tunneling, as in the pp reaction, is not a two-body process. Tunneling is mediated by an energetic electron that interacts with the colliding particles. The presence of such an electron lowers the potential barrier and increases the probability of tunneling by orders of magnitude. The solar luminosity can be maintained with a central temperature near 10 million K where the neutrino production rates correspond to the observed rates. Current stellar interior and evolutionary models need substantial revision.