Hoyle state and rotational features in Carbon-12 within a no-core shell-model framework

By using only a fraction of the model space extended beyond current no-core shell-model limits and a many-nucleon interaction with a single parameter, we gain additional insight within a symmetry-guided shell-model framework, into the many-body dynamics that gives rise to the ground state rotational band together with phenomena tied to alpha-clustering substructures in the low-lying states in 12C, and in particular, the challenging Hoyle state and its first 2+ and 4+ excitations. For these states, we offer a novel perspective emerging out of no-core shell-model considerations, including a discussion of associated nuclear deformation and matter radii. This, in turn, provides guidance for ab initio shell models by informing key features of nuclear structure and the interaction.