The Proton-Proton Reaction, Solar Neutrinos, and a Relativistic Field Theoretic Model of the Deuteron

In a series of recent papers, Ivanov et al. and Oberhummer et al. have calculated the rate for the $p + p \to d + e^+ + \nu_e$ reaction with a zero-range four-fermion effective interaction and find a result 2.9 times higher than the standard value calculated from non-relativistic potential theory. Their procedure is shown to give a wrong answer because their assumed interaction disagrees with low-energy $pp$ scattering data.