CNO reaction rates and chemical abundance variations in dense stellar plasma

In the hot interiors of dense stellar plasma, the equilibrium CNO cycle converts most of the carbon and oxygen into nitrogen. We discuss implications of new measurements concerning the modified thermonuclear CNO reaction rates and the chemical abundance evolution of the stellar core as a function of the temperature. We show that strong CNO abundance variations occur if non-extensive statistical effects, connected to memory plasma effects and long-range force, are taken into account.