  In dense astrophysical plasmas, neutron capture populates highly excited
nuclear states close to the neutron threshold. The impact of additional
low-energy nuclear excitations via coupling to the atomic shell on the ability
of the so-formed compound nucleus to retain the captured neutron is
investigated. We focus on the mechanism of nuclear excitation by electron
capture in plasmas characterized by electron fluxes typical for the slow
neutron capture process of stellar nucleosynthesis. The small effect of this
further excitation on the neutron capture and gamma decay sequence relevant for
nucleosynthesis is quantified and compared to the corresponding effect of an
additional low-energy photoexcitation step.
