An excited state of ^ { 12 } C having excitation energy E _ { x } \sim 9.65 \pm 0.02 MeV and width ( FWHM ) \sim 607 \pm 55 keV , which decays to three \alpha -particles via Hoyle state ( E _ { x } \sim 7.65 MeV ) , has been directly identified for the first time in the exclusive inelastic scattering of 60 MeV ^ { 4 } He on ^ { 12 } C , measured in coincidence with the recoiling ^ { 12 } C ^ { * } Hoyle state ( decaying mostly as ^ { 12 } C ^ { * } \rightarrow ^ { 8 } Be + \alpha \rightarrow \alpha + \alpha + \alpha ) by event-by-event kinematic reconstruction of the completely detected ( 4 \alpha ) events .
This state is likely to be a candidate for 2 _ { 2 } ^ { + } first excited Hoyle state , the existence of which has recently been indirectly evidenced from the recent inclusive inelastic scattering studies .