Starting from state-by-state calculations of exclusive rates of the ordinary muon capture (OMC), we evaluated total µ − -capture rates for a set of light-and medium-weight nuclear isotopes. We employed a version of the proton-neutron quasi-particle random phase approximation (pn-QRPA, for short) which uses as realistic nuclear forces the Bonn C-D one boson exchange potential. Special attention was paid on the percentage contribution to the total µ − -capture rate of specific low-spin multipolarities resulting by summing over the corresponding multipole transitions. The nuclear method used offers the possibility of estimating seperately the individual contributions to the total and partial rates of the polar-vector and axial-vector components of the weak interaction Hamiltonian for each accessible final state of the daughter nucleus. One of our main goals is to provide a reliable description of the charge changing transitions matrix elements entering the description of other similar semileptonic nuclear processes like the charged-current neutrino-nucleus reactions, the electron capture on nuclei, the single β ± -decay mode, etc., which play important role in currently interesting laboratory and astrophysical applications like the neutrino-detection through leptonnucleus interaction probes, and neutrino-nucleosynthesis. Such results can be also be useful in various ongoing muon-capture experiments at PSI, Fermilab, JPARC and RCNP.

In the first stage of this work, we perform detailed calculations for the cross sections of the electron capture on nuclei under laboratory conditions. Towards this aim we exploit the advantages of a refined version of the proton-neutron quasi-particle random-phase approximation (pn-QRPA) and carry out state-by-state evaluations of the rates of exclusive processes that lead to any of the accessible transitions within the chosen model space. In the second stage of our present study, we translate the above mentioned e − -capture cross sections to the stellar environment ones by inserting the temperature dependence through a Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution describing the stellar electron gas. As a concrete nuclear target we use the 66 Zn isotope, which belongs to the iron group nuclei and plays prominent role in stellar nucleosynthesis at core collapse supernovae environment.

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The evolution of the hot and dense interior of massive stars has aroused the intense interest of researchers the last more than three decades. In this article, the role of the semi-leptonic weak interaction processes of leptons (involving neutrinos) with nucleons and nuclei in the late stages of stellar evolution, as well as in the relevant terrestrial neutrino detection experiments, is reviewed. Such processes play crucial role for the massive stars’ evolution in the final stages of their life, and specifically in the core-collapse supernova leading to the supernova explosion phenomenon. We start by mainly focusing on the neutrino producing charged-lepton capture, like the electron-capture and the muon-capture on nuclei and, then, we discuss the neutrino absorbing reactions which are essential in the neutrino-driven explosive nucleo-synthesis. These processes are also significant in many ongoing and planned worldwide underground sensitive experiments aiming to detect astrophysical neutrinos which rely on the interactions of neutrinos with the bound nucleons inside atomic nuclei.