A stringent upper limit on the direct 3α decay of the Hoyle state in 12C

We investigate an implication of the most recent observation of a second J� = 2+ state in 12C, which was measured using the 12C(,�)8Be(g.s.) reaction. In addition to the dissociation of 12C to an �-particle and 8Be in its ground state, a small fraction of events (2%) were identified as direct decays and decays to excited states in 8Be. This allowed a limit on the direct 3� partial decay width to be determined as