News and expectations in Thermostatistics

Editorial of the International Conference (NEXT 2003): News and expectations in Thermostatistics, Sardinia 21-28 Sept. 200

Helioseismic tests of diffusion theory

We present a quantitative estimate of the accuracy of the calculated diffusion coefficients, by comparing predictions of solar models with observational data provided by helioseismology. By taking into account the major uncertainties in building solar models we conclude that helioseismology confirms the diffusion efficiency adopted in SSM calculations, to the 10% level.Comment: 5 pages with 1 ps figure included, LaTeX file with l-aa.sty, submitted to Astronomy and Astrophysic

Deformed logarithms and entropies

By solving a differential-functional equation inposed by the MaxEnt principle we obtain a class of two-parameter deformed logarithms and construct the corresponding two-parameter generalized trace-form entropies. Generalized distributions follow from these generalized entropies in the same fashion as the Gaussian distribution follows from the Shannon entropy, which is a special limiting case of the family. We determine the region of parameters where the deformed logarithm conserves the most important properties of the logarithm, and show that important existing generalizations of the entropy are included as special cases in this two-parameter class.Comment: Presented at next2003, Second Sardinian International Conference on News and Expectations in Thermostatistics, Villasimius (Cagliari) Italy, 21st-28th September 2003. In press Physica A (2004). Elsevier LaTeX macros, 11 pages, 1 figur

Non-Markovian effects in the solar neutrino problem

The solar core, because of its density and temperature, is not a weakly-interacting or a high-temperature plasma. Collective effects have time scales comparable to the average time between collisions, and the microfield distribution influences the particle dynamics. In this conditions ion and electron diffusion is a non-Markovian process, memory effects are present and the equilibrium statistical distribution function differs from the Maxwellian one. We show that, even if the deviations from the standard velocity distribution that are compatible with our present knowledge of the solar interior are small, they are sufficient to sensibly modify the sub-barrier nuclear reaction rates. The consequent changes of the neutrino fluxes are comparable to the flux deficits that constitute the solar neutrino problem.Comment: 4 pages, to appear in the Proceedings of Nuclei in the Cosmos

Thermal distributions in stellar plasmas, nuclear reactions and solar neutrinos

The physics of nuclear reactions in stellar plasma is reviewed with special emphasis on the importance of the velocity distribution of ions. Then the properties (density and temperature) of the weak-coupled solar plasma are analysed, showing that the ion velocities should deviate from the Maxwellian distribution and could be better described by a weakly-nonexstensive (|q-1|<0.02) Tsallis' distribution. We discuss concrete physical frameworks for calculating this deviation: the introduction of higher-order corrections to the diffusion and friction coefficients in the Fokker-Plank equation, the influence of the electric-microfield stochastic distribution on the particle dynamics, a velocity correlation function with long-time memory arising from the coupling of the collective and individual degrees of freedom. Finally, we study the effects of such deviations on stellar nuclear rates, on the solar neutrino fluxes, and on the pp neutrino energy spectrum, and analyse the consequences for the solar neutrino problem.Comment: ReVTeX, 23 pages, 3 figures, to appear in the special issue (Nonextensive statistical mechanics and thermodynamics) of the Brazilian Journal of Physic

Deuterium burning in Jupiter interior

We show that moderate deviations from the Maxwell-Boltzmann energy distribution can increase deuterium reaction rates enough to contribute to the heating of Jupiter. These deviations are compatible with the violation of extensivity expected from temperature and density conditions inside Jupiter.Comment: 6 pages, use elsart + 1 encaspulated postscript figure. Submitted to Physica