Nuclear reaction rates and energy in stellar plasmas: The effect of highly damped modes

Abstract

The effects of the highly damped modes in the energy and reaction rates in a plasma are discussed. These modes, with wavenumbers $k \gg k_{D}$, even being only weakly excited, with less than $k_{B}T$ per mode, make a significant contribution to the energy and screening in a plasma. When the de Broglie wavelength is much less than the distance of closest approach of thermal electrons, a classical analysis of the plasma can