  Proton capture by 17F plays an important role in the synthesis of nuclei in
nova explosions. A revised rate for this reaction, based on a measurement of
the 1H(17F,p)17F excitation function using a radioactive 17F beam at ORNL's
Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility, is used to calculate the
nucleosynthesis in nova outbursts on the surfaces of 1.25 and 1.35 solar mass
ONeMg white dwarfs and a 1.00 solar mass CO white dwarf. We find that the new
17F(p,gamma)18Ne reaction rate changes the abundances of some nuclides (e.g.,
17O) synthesized in the hottest zones of an explosion on a 1.35 solar mass
white dwarf by more than a factor of 10,000 compared to calculations using some
previous estimates for this reaction rate, and by more than a factor of 3 when
the entire exploding envelope is considered. In a 1.25 solar mass white dwarf
nova explosion, this new rate changes the abundances of some nuclides
synthesized in the hottest zones by more than a factor of 600, and by more than
a factor of 2 when the entire exploding envelope is considered. Calculations
for the 1.00 solar mass white dwarf nova show that this new rate changes the
abundance of 18Ne by 21%, but has negligible effect on all other nuclides.
Comparison of model predictions with observations is also discussed.
