Algebraic model studies of the structure and reactions of

The role of algebraic models and geometric cluster models of alpha clusters in the structure of ground and first excited 0+ and second excited 2+ states in 12C are evaluated with the aim of establishing if the rotational bands are compatible with rigid structures or if they are instead overlaps of different configurations. A rigid equilateral triangle shape is assumed in Ref.[2, 3]: the energy spectrum, electromagnetic observables are calculated and the transition densities are compared with elastic and inelastic cross-sections for various processes. In a different approach [4, 5], we solve the three-body quantum problem for 3 alphas using the orthogonality condition and the stochastic variational method with correlated Gaussian basis functions. The two-body density distributions indicate that the main configurations of both the second 0+ and 2+ states are acute iscosceles triangle shapes with a 8Be(0+)+α configuration. We also find clues that the second 2+ state is probably not a member of the rigid rotational band built on the Hoyle state.