New information on the rate of the carbon-burning reaction

New measurements of the cross-section for the 12C + 12C carbon-burning nuclear reaction are reported, extending down to a center of mass energy of 2.45 MeV, equivalent to a thermal temperature of 108 K. A rise in the nuclear factor at the lowest energy may be interpreted as an optical giant resonance or a collection of compound nuclear resonances on the one hand or "absorption under the barrier" according to a theory by Michaud and Vogt. Reaction rates are tabulated for various burning temperatures.