2026-07-072026-07-07http://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/186570We compare Path Integral Monte Carlo calculations by Militzer and Pollock (Phys. Rev. B 71, 134303, 2005) of Coulomb tunneling in nuclear reactions in dense matter to semiclassical calculations assuming WKB Coulomb barrier penetration through the radial mean-field potential. We find a very good agreement of two approaches at temperatures higher than ~1/5 of the ion plasma temperature. We obtain a simple parameterization of the mean field potential and of the respective reaction rates. We analyze Gamow-peak energies of reacting ions in various reaction regimes and discuss theoretical uncertainties of nuclear reaction rates taking carbon burning in dense stellar matter as an example.13 pages, 7 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. DAstrophysicsNuclear Theorytext