  Nuclear reaction rates of astrophysical applications are traditionally
determined on the basis of Hauser-Feshbach reaction codes. These codes adopt a
number of approximations that have never been tested, such as a simplified
width fluctuation correction, the neglect of delayed or multiple-particle
emission during the electromagnetic decay cascade, or the absence of the
pre-equilibrium contribution at increasing incident energies.
  The reaction code TALYS has been recently updated to estimate the
Maxwellian-averaged reaction rates that are of astrophysical relevance. These
new developments enable the reaction rates to be calculated with increased
accuracy and reliability and the approximations of previous codes to be
investigated.
  The TALYS predictions for the thermonuclear rates of relevance to
astrophysics are detailed and compared with those derived by widely-used codes
for the same nuclear ingredients. It is shown that TALYS predictions may differ
significantly from those of previous codes, in particular for nuclei for which
no or little nuclear data is available. The pre-equilibrium process is shown to
influence the astrophysics rates of exotic neutron-rich nuclei significantly.
For the first time, the Maxwellian-averaged (n,2n) reaction rate is calculated
for all nuclei and its competition with the radiative capture rate is
discussed.
  The TALYS code provides a new tool to estimate all nuclear reaction rates of
relevance to astrophysics with improved accuracy and reliability.
