The Role of the 96 keV Level in the 19O((beta)-)^19F Process at Stellar Temperatures

From isobaric analog symmetry arguments and nuclear shell model calculations, we evaluate the temperature dependence of the beta-decay rates of the ground state and first excited state at an excitation energy of 96 keV in 19O. It is shown that the decay from the excited level exceeds that of the ground state for T9 > 1. This feature may be of significance in the r-process and explosive nucleosynthesis.