Abstract
The vacuum-polarization (VP) corrections to rates for nuclear-fusion reactions in the pp chain and in the CNO cycle are calculated. For the reactions of particular importance to the solar-neutrino problem, the He,2pHe, (α,γBe, (p,γB, and (p,γO reactions, we find the magnitude of the effect to be less than 2%. The effect of VP on all the other reaction rates is expected to be of a similar order of magnitude. We discuss how these results affect the predicted fluxes of solar neutrinos.
- Received 25 June 1993
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.49.545
©1994 American Physical Society