The triple-alpha process and its anthropic significance

Abstract

Through the triple-alpha process practically all of the carbon in our universe is synthesized as the ash of helium burning in red giants. The triple-alpha process proceeds trough the ground state of 8Be and though the 02+-state in 12C. We investigate the dependence of 02+-state and the production of carbon as a function of the strength of the underlying nucleon-nucleon interaction. This is performed by using the complex scaling method in a microscopic cluster model.

4 pages, nicV.sty included, to appear in Proceedings of "Nuclei in the Cosmos V", ed. N. Prantzos (Editions Frontiers). Some misprints in the tables are corrected