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PreprintCC BY 4.0arXiv

Strong Evidence for Three-α Clustering in the Ground State of 12C

  • Kazuki Yoshida
  • Masaaki Kimura
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Abstract

The ground state of 12C has often been approximated by a mean-field picture. This conventional view has been challenged by recent nuclear theories suggesting non-negligible α-cluster formation, but experimental evidence remains inconclusive. Here, we show that existing 12C(p,pα)8Be data provide direct evidence for a pronounced α cluster formation in the ground state of 12C. We analyze the data with distorted-wave impulse approximation using α preformation amplitudes from an unrestricted 3α cluster model and harmonic-oscillator-based models. The results show that the former reproduces the measured cross sections, whereas the latter underestimate them by more than an order of magnitude. Thus, contrary to conventional expectations, the data support a nearly fully developed three-α cluster structure in the ground state of 12C.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@misc{yoshida2026strong,
  title = {{Strong Evidence for Three-$α$ Clustering in the Ground State of $^12\mathrmC$}},
  author = {Kazuki Yoshida and Masaaki Kimura},
  howpublished = {arXiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = aug,
  doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2606.31437},
  eprint = {2606.31437},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.31437},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - UNPB
TI  - Strong Evidence for Three-α Clustering in the Ground State of ^12C
AU  - Kazuki Yoshida
AU  - Masaaki Kimura
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/31
PB  - arXiv
DO  - 10.48550/arxiv.2606.31437
UR  - https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.31437
AB  - The ground state of ^12C has often been approximated by a mean-field picture. This conventional view has been challenged by recent nuclear theories suggesting non-negligible α-cluster formation, but experimental evidence remains inconclusive. Here, we show that existing ^12C(p,pα)^8Be data provide direct evidence for a pronounced α cluster formation in the ground state of ^12C. We analyze the data with distorted-wave impulse approximation using α preformation amplitudes from an unrestricted 3α cluster model and harmonic-oscillator-based models. The results show that the former reproduces the measured cross sections, whereas the latter underestimate them by more than an order of magnitude. Thus, contrary to conventional expectations, the data support a nearly fully developed three-α cluster structure in the ground state of ^12C.
ER  -