The decay path of the Hoyle state in ^12C (E_x=7.654  MeV) has been studied with the ^14N(d,α_2)^12C(7.654) reaction induced at 10.5 MeV. High resolution invariant mass spectroscopy techniques have allowed us to unambiguously disentangle direct and sequential decays of the state passing through the ground state of ^8Be. 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 3α cluster model calculations, where higher precision limits are needed.

High-Precision Probe of the Fully Sequential Decay Width of the Hoyle State in ^12C

Gulino, M;Spartà, R;Tumino, A
2017-01-01

Abstract

The decay path of the Hoyle state in ^12C (E_x=7.654  MeV) has been studied with the ^14N(d,α_2)^12C(7.654) reaction induced at 10.5 MeV. High resolution invariant mass spectroscopy techniques have allowed us to unambiguously disentangle direct and sequential decays of the state passing through the ground state of ^8Be. 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 3α cluster model calculations, where higher precision limits are needed.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11387/128838
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