Coulomb corrections to the equation of state of degenerate matter are usually neglected in high-temperature regimes, owing to the inverse dependence of the plasma coupling constant, G, on temperature. However, nuclear statistical equilibrium matter is characterized by a large abundance by mass of large-Z (iron group) nuclei. It is found that Coulomb corrections to the ion ideal gas equation of state of matter in nuclear statistical equilibrium are important at temperatures T≲5–10×109 K and densities ρ≳108 g cm−3. At a temperature T=8.5×109 K and a density ρ=8×109 g cm−3, the neutronization rate is larger by ≳28 per cent when Coulomb corrections are included. However, the conductive velocity of a thermonuclear deflagration wave in C-O drops by ∼16 per cent when Coulomb corrections to the heat capacity are taken into account. The implications for SNIa models and nucleosynthesis, and also for the accretion-induced collapse of white dwarfs, are discussed. Particularly relevant is the result that the minimum density for collapse of a white dwarf to a neutron star is shifted down to 5.5–6×109 g cm−3, a value substantially lower than previously thought.

Peer Reviewed