Nuclear fusion via triple collisions in solar plasma

Abstract We consider several nuclear fusion reactions that can take place at the center of the sun, which are omitted in the standard pp-chain model. More specifically the reaction rates of the nonradiative production of 3 He, 7 Be, and 8 B nuclei in triple collisions involving electrons are estimated within the framework of the adiabatic approximation. These rates are compared with those of the corresponding binary fusion reactions.