Profs. James deBoer, Wanpeng Tan, and Michael Wiescher were part of an international team of researchers who recently published a review article in the European Journal of Physics on the physics of carbon–carbon fusion reactions during late stellar burning. The C+C fusion reaction is believed to play a key role in numerous stellar burning environments and has long been considered the most likely ignition mechanism for Type Ia thermonuclear supernovae. Despite its importance, the physics governing low-energy carbon fusion remains poorly understood. Although significant experimental and theoretical efforts have been made to extend direct reaction studies into the low-energy regime relevant to stellar environments, this region remains largely unexplored, and the full astrophysical impact of the reaction is still uncertain. The review summarizes the current status of experimental and theoretical work in the field, much of which has been driven by research conducted at the Notre Dame Nuclear Science Laboratory with funding support from the National Science Foundation.
The review article has been published online and is available at: https://