Metastability of Electron-Nuclear Astrophysical Plasmas: Motivations, Signals and Conditions

Abstract

Physical motivations indicating that the electron-nuclear plasma of a stellar core (like the solar core) is not in a global thermodynamical equilibrium but satisfies the conditions of a metastable state are described. Momentum distributions of electrons and ions are nonextensive power law distributions, rather than the Maxwellian distribution of a global equilibrium state. Some open astrophysical problems are discussed as signals of deviations from global equilibrium description. The use of nonextensive distributions, appropriate in the case of metastable states, to evaluate atomic and nuclear rates of several processes in astrophysical systems, can lead to the solutions of the reported problems. Conditions of metastability for these systems are discussed.