Quantum corrections to microscopic diffusion constants

Abstract

We review the state of the art regarding the computation of the resistance coefficients in conditions typical of the stellar plasma, and compare the various results studying their effect on the solar model. We introduce and discuss for the first time in an astrophysical context the effect of quantum corrections to the evaluation of the resistance coefficients, and provide simple yet accurate fitting formulae for their computation. Although the inclusion of quantum corrections only weakly modifies the solar model, their effect is growing with density, and thus might be of relevance in case of denser objects like, e.g., white dwarfs.