High precision probe of the fully sequential decay width of the Hoyle state in ${}^{12}$C

Abstract

The decay path of the Hoyle state in ${}^{12}$C ($E_x=7.654\text{MeV}$) has been studied with the ${}^{14}\text{N}(\text{d},{\alpha }_2{)}^{12}\text{C}(7.654)$ reaction induced at $10.5\text{MeV}$. High resolution invariant mass spectroscopy techniques have allowed to unambiguously disentangle direct and sequential decays of the state passing through the ground state of ${}^8$Be. Thanks to the almost total absence of background and the attained resolution, a fully sequential decay contribution to the width of the state has been observed. The direct decay width is negligible, with an upper limit of $0.043\%$ ($95\%$ C.L.). The precision of this result is about a factor $5$ higher than previous studies. This has significant implications on nuclear structure, as it provides constraints to $3$-$\alpha$ cluster model calculations, where higher precision limits are needed.

References in corpus (13)

• A Unified Approach to the Classical Statistical Analysis of Small Signals
• Alpha cluster condensation in 12C and 16O
• Ab initio calculation of the Hoyle state
• Concepts of alpha-particle condensation
• Production of 26Al, 44Ti, and 60Fe in Core-Collapse Supernovae: Sensitivity to the Rates of the Triple Alpha and 12C(a,g)16O Reactions
• Evidence for $\alpha$-particle condensation in nuclei from the Hoyle state deexcitation
• Inelastic form factors to alpha particle condensate states in 12C and 16O: what can we learn ?
• Quantum three-body calculation of the nonresonant triple-αreaction rate at low temperatures
• Decay and structure of the Hoyle state
• Nuclear Reaction Rate Uncertainties and Astrophysical Modeling. II. Carbon Yields from Low-mass Giants
• Direct and sequential radiative three-body reaction rates at low temperatures
• Low-temperature triple-alpha rate in a full three-body model
• Imaginary-time method for radiative capture reaction rate

Cited by in corpus (28)

• Microscopic Clustering in Light Nuclei
• Recent developments in radioactive charged-particle emissions and related phenomena
• Positive-parity linear-chain molecular band in ${}^{16}$C
• Experimental investigation of $\alpha$-condensation in light nuclei
• Searching for states analogous to the 12C Hoyle state in heavier nuclei using the thick target inverse kinematics technique
• A stringent upper limit on the direct 3$\alpha$ decay of the Hoyle State in ${}^{12}$C
• Cluster structures in ${}^{12}$C from global energy density functionals
• Decay Modes of the Hoyle State in ${}^{12}C$
• Exploring the compactness of $\alpha$ cluster in ${}^{16}$O nuclei with relativistic ${}^{16}$O+${}^{16}$O collisions
• Almost medium-free measurement of the Hoyle state direct-decay component with a TPC
• Three-body effects in the Hoyle-state decay
• Strongly Resonating Bosons in Hot Nuclei
• Bose-Einstein condensation of alpha clusters and new soft mode in 12C--52Fe 4N nuclei in field theoretical superfluid cluster model
• Investigating the predicted breathing-mode excitation of the Hoyle state
• Experimental study of precisely selected evaporation chains in the decay of excited ${}^{25}$Mg
• Optimization of basis functions for the multi-configuration mixing using the Replica Exchange Monte-Carlo method and its application to ${}^{12}$C
• Accuracy of the mean-field theory in describing ground-state properties of light nuclei
• Machine learning method for ${}^{12}$C event classification and reconstruction in the active target time-projection chamber
• The Hoyle Family: The search for alpha-condensate states in light nuclei
• A geometrical interpretation of the Thomas theorem and the Efimov States
• Characterization of the breakup channel in the asymmetric systems ${}^{40,48}$Ca+${}^{12}$C at 25 and 40 MeV/nucleon
• Triple α Resonances in the Decay of Hot Nuclear Systems *
• Experimental nuclear astrophysics in Italy
• High precision proton angular distribution measurements of ${}^{12}$C(p,p') for determination of the $E0$ decay branching ratio of the Hoyle state
• States of the ${}^{12}$C Nucleus in the Toroidal Configuration
• A dynamical Interpretation of Sequential Decay in Reactive Scattering
• Two-body cluster entangled structure in the ${\mathcal{H}}_1\otimes {\mathcal{H}}_2$ Hilbert space
• Clusters in light stable and exotic nuclei