Direct observation of the 4+-to-2+ gamma transition in 8Be

Electromagnetic transition rates provide an important test for nuclear structure models. The nucleus 8Be exhibits a pronounced alpha-cluster structure and is a building block for more complex cluster nuclei. Here we report on the first observation of the gamma transition between the 4(+) and 2(+) states of 8Be in the 4He+4He reaction. The measured on-resonance cross section of 165+/-54 nb leads to a B(E2) of25+/-8e(2) fm(4), in good agreement with alpha-cluster models and sophisticated ab initio structure calculations.