Nuclear timescale vs. temperature. The nuclear timescale has been computed as τ_nuc = (2ρN_AY₁₂ ⟨ σv ⟩ )^-1, where N_A is Avogadro’s number, Y₁₂ = 0.5/12 mol g^-1 is the molar fraction of ¹²C, and  ⟨ σv ⟩  is the rate of the ¹²C+¹²C reaction. There are shown curves belonging to the CF88 non-resonant rate, the non-resonant plus the resonance at 2.1 MeV measured by S07, and the non-resonant plus the 2.1 MeV resonance plus a LER. For the last, the curves are labeled with the values of the resonance energy, E_R in MeV, and the resonance strength, (ωγ)_R in meV. The hatched region shows the range of the convective timescales. In this plot, the density is ρ = 2 × 10⁹ g cm^-3 and the carbon mass fraction is 0.5. Note that a lower carbon abundance would imply a longer nuclear timescale.