Reexamination of reaction rates for a key stellar reaction of ¹⁴O(α,p)¹⁷F

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The reaction rates of the key stellar reaction of ¹⁴O(α,p)¹⁷F have been reexamined. The previous conclusion, the 6.15-MeV state (Jπ=1-) dominating this reaction rate, has been overthrown by a careful reanalysis of the previous experimental data [J. Gómez del Campo et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 43 (2001)]. According to the present R-matrix analysis, the previous 1- assignment for the 6.15-MeV state is definitely wrong. Most probably, the 6.286-MeV state is the 1- state and the 6.15-MeV state is a 3- one, and hence the resonance at Eₓ=6.286 MeV (Jπ=1-) dominates the reaction rates in the temperature region of astrophysical interests. The newly calculated reaction rates for the ¹⁴O(α,p)¹⁷F reaction are quite different from the previous ones, for instance, it's only about 1/6 of the previous value around 0.4 GK, while it's about 2.4 times larger than the previous value around 2 GK. The astrophysical implications have been discussed based on the present conclusions.