New approach to determine the radiative width of the hoyle

Abstract

The triple alpha process leading to the formation of stable carbon in the Universe is one of the most important nuclear astrophysical processes. The radiative width of the so called Hoyle-state, involving the 7.654 MeV EO and the 3.215 MeV E2 transitions, is known with 10% accuracy. A novel, more direct approach is proposed here, based on the measurement of the EO and the E2 internal pair conversion intensities. We report on the development of a new type of magnetic pair spectrometer with high sensitivity for electron-positron pairs and with excellent energy resolution.