A new high-precision upper limit of direct α-decays from the Hoyle state in 12C

D. Dell’Aquila; I. Lombardo; G. Verde; M. Vigilante; L. Acosta; C. Agodi; F. Cappuzzello; D. Carbone; M. Cavallaro; S. Cherubini; A. Cvetinovic; G. D’Agata; L. Francalanza; G.L. Guardo; M. Gulino; I. Indelicato; M. La Cognata; L. Lamia; A. Ordine; R.G. Pizzone; S.M.R. Puglia; G.G. Rapisarda; S. Romano; G. Santagati; R. Spartà; G. Spadaccini; C. Spitaleri; A. Tumino

doi:10.1051/epjconf/201716501020

All issues

Volume 165 (2017)

EPJ Web Conf., 165 (2017) 01020

Abstract

Open Access

Issue		EPJ Web Conf. Volume 165, 2017 Nuclear Physics in Astrophysics VIII (NPA8 2017)


Article Number		01020
Number of page(s)		6
DOI		https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/201716501020
Published online		30 December 2017

EPJ Web of Conferences 165, 01020 (2017)
https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/201716501020

A new high-precision upper limit of direct α-decays from the Hoyle state in ¹²C

D. Dell’Aquila¹^,2^,3^*, I. Lombardo⁴, G. Verde³^,4, M. Vigilante¹^,2, L. Acosta⁵, C. Agodi⁶, F. Cappuzzello⁷^,6, D. Carbone⁶, M. Cavallaro⁶, S. Cherubini⁶^,7, A. Cvetinovic⁶, G. D’Agata⁷^,6, L. Francalanza², G.L. Guardo⁶, M. Gulino⁶^,6, I. Indelicato⁶, M. La Cognata⁶, L. Lamia⁷, A. Ordine², R.G. Pizzone⁶, S.M.R. Puglia⁶, G.G. Rapisarda⁶, S. Romano⁶, G. Santagati⁶, R. Spartà⁶, G. Spadaccini¹^,2, C. Spitaleri⁷^,6 and A. Tumino⁸^,6

¹ Dip. di Fisica “E. Pancini”, Università di Napoli Federico II, I-80126 Napoli, Italy
² INFN-Sezione di Napoli, I-80126 Napoli, Italy
³ Institut de Physique Nucléaire, CNRS-IN2P3, Univ. Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, 91406 Orsay Cedex, France
⁴ INFN - Sezione di Catania, Via S. Sofia, I-95125 Catania, Italy
⁵ Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, A.P. 20-364, Cd.Mx, D.F. 01000 México
⁶ INFN - Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, Via S. Sofia, I-95125 Catania, Italy
⁷ Dip. di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Catania, Via S. Sofia, I-95125 Catania, Italy
⁸ Facoltà di Ingegneria ed Architettura, Università Kore, I-94100 Enna, Italy

^* e-mail: dellaquila@na.infn.it

Published online: 30 December 2017

Abstract

The Hoyle state in ¹²C(E_x = 7.654MeV) is characterized by a pronounced 3α cluster configuration. It is involved in the so-called 3α process in stars, that is responsible of ¹²C nucleosynthesis. We studied the decay path of the Hoyle state by using the ¹⁴N(d, α₂)¹²C(7.654) reaction at 10.5MeV incident energy. We found, with a precision higher of a factor 5 than any other previous experiment, an almost total absence of direct decays by-passing the ground state of ⁸Be. A new upper limit of such a decay width is placed at 0.043% (95% C.L.). Astrophysical 3α process reaction rate calculations have to be consequently revised.

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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