On formation of the $^{12}$C(0$^+_2$) and $^{12}$C(3$^-$) states in relativistic dissociation of light nuclei

TL;DR

This study investigates the formation of specific excited states of carbon-12 in relativistic dissociation of light nuclei, using invariant mass reconstruction to identify these states and quantify their contributions.

Contribution

It provides new measurements of the contributions of $^{12}$C(0$^+_2$) and $^{12}$C(3$^-$) states in relativistic dissociation processes, enhancing understanding of nuclear dissociation mechanisms.

Findings

Contributions of $^{12}$C(0$^+_2$) and $^{12}$C(3$^-$) in $^{12}$C dissociation are 11% and 19%.

Contributions of $^{12}$C(0$^+_2$) and $^{12}$C(3$^-$) in $^{16}$O dissociation are 20% and 30%.

Invariant mass reconstruction effectively identifies excited nuclear states.

Abstract

The formation of the excited states $^{12}$C(0$^+_2$) and $^{12}$C(3$^-$) is investigated in the dissociation of $^{12}$C $\to$ 3$\alpha$ and $^{16}$O $\to$ 4$\alpha$ at the energy of 3.65 GeV per nucleon in the nuclear emulsion. The identification becomes possible by reconstructing the invariant mass from measurements of emission angles in the approximation of conservation of momentum per nucleon of the parent nucleus. The contribution of the decays $^{12}$C(0$^+_2$) and $^{12}$C(3$^-$) to the dissociation $^{12}$C $\to$ 3$\alpha$ is 11 and 19%, and in $^{16}$O $\to$ 4$\alpha$ it is - 20 and 30%, correspondingly.