Consistent alpha-cluster description of the 12C (0^+_2) resonance

Abstract

The near-threshold 12C (0^+_2) resonance provides unique possibility for fast helium burning in stars, as predicted by Hoyle to explain the observed abundance of elements in the Universe. Properties of this resonance are calculated within the framework of the alpha-cluster model whose two-body and three-body effective potentials are tuned to describe the alpha - alpha scattering data, the energies of the 0^+_1 and 0^+_2 states, and the 0^+_1-state root-mean-square radius. The extremely small width of the 0^+_2 state, the 0_2^+ to 0_1^+ monopole transition matrix element, and transition radius are found in remarkable agreement with the experimental data. The 0^+_2-state structure is described as a system of three alpha-particles oscillating between the ground-state-like configuration and the elongated chain configuration whose probability exceeds 0.9.

References in corpus (5)

• Inelastic form factors to alpha particle condensate states in 12C and 16O: what can we learn ?
• Pair decay width of the Hoyle state and carbon production in stars
• Quantum three-body calculation of the nonresonant triple-αreaction rate at low temperatures
• Structure of low-lying 12C-resonances
• Momentum distributions of $\alpha$-particles from decaying low-lying ${}^{12}$C-resonances

Cited by in corpus (1)

• Universal physics of bound states of a few charged particles