Evidence for alpha-particle chain configurations in 24Mg

Many theoretical models have been employed to described the structure of the nucleus 24Mg. Among these are the Cranked Shell model (CSM), the Cranked Cluster Model (CCM), and calculations have also been performed using the Hartree-Fock formalism. One very striking prediction of these calculations is that in this nucleus there exist very unusual configurations, with structures reminiscent of linear chains of alpha particles. In the CSM, for instance, such a configuration is identified with a pronounced minimum in the potential energy energy at very large prolate deformation. In the CCM, several very different alpha-particle duster configurations are identified, many having rather large deformations. These cluster configurations can be associated with the different potential-energy minima obtained in the CSM results. In the case of the CCM, a 6α chain-like configuration is predicted to occur at excitation energies between 40 and 50 MeV, with predicted rotational spacing given by ℎ2/2I=22 keV. At this excitation energy, such a chain configuration would lie well above the threshold for the decay of 24Mg into 6 alpha particles, and its identification poses a difficult experimental challenge. This report discusses this challenge