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Mean-field study of $^{12}$C+$^{12}$C fusion

The nuclear mean-field potential arising from the $^{12}$C+$^{12}$C interaction at the low energies relevant for the astrophysical carbon burning process has been constructed within the double-folding model, using the realistic nuclear ground-state density of the $^{12}$C nucleus and the effective M3Y nucleon-nucleon (NN) interaction constructed from the G-matrix of the Paris (free) NN potential. To explore the nuclear medium effect, both the original density independent M3Y-Paris interaction and its density dependent CDM3Y6 version have been used in the folding model calculation of the $^{12}$C+$^{12}$C potential. The folded potentials at the different energies were used in the optical model description of the elastic $^{12}$C+$^{12}$C scattering at the energies around and below the Coulomb barrier, as well as in the barrier penetration model to estimate the fusion cross section and astrophysical $S$ factor of the $^{12}$C+$^{12}$C reactions at the low energies. The obtained results are in good agreement with experimental data over a wide range of energies.