The fragmentation of quasi-projectiles from the nuclear reaction $^{40}$Ca+$^{12}$C at 25 MeV/nucleon was used to produce excited states candidates to $alpha$-particle condensation. Complete kinematic characterization of individual decay events, made
possible by a high-granularity 4$pi$ charged particle multi-detector, reveals that 7.5$pm$4.0% of the particle decays of the Hoyle state correspond to direct decays in three equal-energy $alpha$-particles.
The fragmentation of quasi-projectiles from the nuclear reaction $^{40}Ca$ + $^{12}C$ at 25 MeV/nucleon was used to produce excited states candidates to $alpha$-particle condensation. The experiment was performed at LNS-Catania using the CHIMERA mult
idetector. Accepting the emission simultaneity and equality among the $alpha$-particle kinetic energies as experimental criteria for deciding in favor of the condensate nature of an excited state, we analyze the $0_2^+$ and $2_2^+$ states of $^{12}$C and the $0_6^+$ state of $^{16}$O. A sub-class of events corresponding to the direct 3-$alpha$ decay of the Hoyle state is isolated.
The fragmentation of quasi-projectiles from the nuclear reaction $^{40}Ca$+$^{12}C$ at 25 MeV/nucleon was used to produce excited states candidates to $alpha$-particle condensation. The methodology relies on high granularity 4$pi$ detection coupled t
o correlation function techniques. Under the assumption that the equality among the kinetic energies of the emitted $alpha$-particles and the emission simultaneity constitutes a reliable fingerprint of $alpha$ condensation, we identify several tens of events corresponding to the deexcitation of the Hoyle state of $^{12}$C which fulfill the condition.
