Doorway states as a principal decay pathway inC12(C12,γ)radiative capture

Abstract

The heavy-ion radiative capture reaction, $^{12}\mathrm{C}(^{12}\mathrm{C},\ensuremath{\gamma})$, has been investigated at beam energies around 16 MeV. Two different experiments were performed. Capture cross sections were obtained by measuring fused $^{24}\mathrm{Mg}$ residues and were found to significantly exceed values reported earlier. Subsequently, the decay pathways associated with radiative capture were delineated using the Gammasphere array. A substantial fraction of the decay was found to proceed through a few high-lying doorway states near 10 MeV in excitation.