Evidence of large nuclear deformation of ${}^{32}$S${}^{\ast }$ formed in ${}^{20}$Ne + ${}^{12}$C reaction

Deformations of hot composite ${}^{32}$S${}^{\ast }$ formed in the reaction ${}^{20}$Ne ($\sim$ 7 – 10 MeV/nucleon) + ${}^{12}$C have been estimated from the respective inclusive $\alpha$-particle evaporation spectra. The estimated deformations for ${}^{32}$S${}^{\ast }$ have been found to be much larger than the `normal’ deformations of hot, rotating composites at similar excitations. This further confirms the formation of highly deformed long-lived configuration of ${}^{20}$Ne + ${}^{12}$C at high excitations ($\sim$ 70 – 100 MeV) – which was recently indicated from the analysis of the complex fragment emission data for the same system. Exclusive $\alpha$-particle evaporation spectra from the decay of hot composite ${}^{32}$S${}^{\ast }$ also show similar behaviour.