I present a fully microscopic description of the ${}^{12}\mathrm{C}+{}^{12}\mathrm{C}$ fusion reaction at stellar energies. Utilizing the multichannel resonating group method (RGM), my model explicitly includes ${}^{12}\mathrm{C}+{}^{12}\mathrm{C}$ and $\alpha {+}^{20}\mathrm{Ne}$ reaction channels (with excited states). This approach provides a consistent, simultaneous description of fusion, elastic scattering, and ${}^{24}\mathrm{Mg}$ spectroscopy. Results for ${}^{12}\mathrm{C}+{}^{12}\mathrm{C}$ elastic scattering show excellent agreement with experimental data, significantly improving the single-channel approximations. Spectroscopic analysis reveals that ${}^{24}\mathrm{Mg}$ states and resonances are highly mixed configurations, contradicting the concept of pure “molecular states.” The calculated fusion $S$ factor is consistent with available experimental data and predicts both narrow and broad resonances near the Coulomb barrier. Main resonance widths originate primarily from the $\alpha +{}^{20}\mathrm{Ne}$ exit channels. The $S$ factor exhibits a decrease at low energies, providing a microscopic support for the hypothesis of fusion hindrance. This work is a first step toward a reliable theoretical extrapolation of the ${}^{12}\mathrm{C}+{}^{12}\mathrm{C}$ reaction to deep stellar burning temperatures. Future works should include the neutron and proton channels to provide a complete description of the ${}^{12}\mathrm{C}+{}^{12}\mathrm{C}$ fusion.

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• Hydrostatic stellar nucleosynthesis
• Nuclear fusion
• Nuclear reactions
• Cluster models
• Shell model