Radiative Decay Branching Ratio of the Hoyle State in 12C via Charged Particle Coincidence Techniques

The properties of the Hoyle state in 12C (7.654 MeV, 0+) affect the rate at which carbon, one of the most abundant elements in the Universe, is forged in stars. Recent experiments reported values of its radiative decay branching ratio that are in tension, posing major implications especially in the astrophysical domain. This work reports on an almost background-free measurement of the radiative decay branching ratio of the Hoyle state that exploits charged particle coincidence techniques. The experiment adopts several methodologies to minimize the background and identify the rare signal associated with the radiative decay. Large care is devoted to having under full control two of the major sources of systematic errors in particle-coincidence experiments: the coincidence efficiency and the spurious coincidence rate. We find a radiative decay branching ratio of Γrad/Γtot = 4.2(6) · 10-4. The new finding helps to resolve the tension between recent data published in the literature.