Over half a century of studying carbon-12

Abstract

Carbon-12 is one of the most studied light nuclei yet it continues to surprise and provide a rigorous testing ground for a wide range of physics, from nucleosynthesis models to theories of symmetries. This paper discusses the background motivating the investigations of 12C and summarises the recent results, with an emphasis on collective excitations and the high-energy structure together with possible future directions for this most intriguing of nuclei.