LIMITS FOR THE 3-ALPHA BRANCHING RATIO OF THE DECAY OF THE 7.65 MEV, 0-12( STATE IN C)

A study of the C-12(C-12,3alpha)C-12 reaction has been performed in or der to determine the magnitude of the process by which the 7.65 MeV, 0 2+ state in C-12 breaks up directly into three alpha particles, in con trast to the sequential decay through Be-8. The strength of this decay channel has important implications for the production rate of C-12 in stellar nucleosynthesis. The present measurement indicates that the c ontribution of this decay process to the alpha width, GAMMA(alpha), of this state is less than 4%.