Direct decay of the GQR in 40Ca through alpha-particle emission

Inelastic scattering of 40Ca on 40Ca at 50MeV/A has been measured at the GANIL facility in coincidence with light charged particles. For the first time, the SPEG spectrometer was associated with 240 CsI(Tl) scintillators of the INDRA 4π array. The missing energy method, successfully used in previous experiments to study the nucleon decay of collective states is applied to the study of alpha-particle decay of the GQR. A significant direct decay branch by alpha-particles of the GQR in 40Ca is measured for the first time.