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The famous Hoyle state (0_2⁺ at 7.654 MeV in ¹²C) is identified as being an almost ideal condensate of three α-particles, hold together only by the Coulomb barrier. It, therefore, has a ⁸Be-α structure of low density. Transition probability and inelastic form factor together with position and other physical quantities are correctly reproduced without any adjustable parameter from our two parameter wave function of α-particle condensate type. The possibility of the existence of α-particle condensed states in heavier nα nuclei is also discussed.

Optical traps and lattices provide a new opportunity to study strongly correlated high spin systems with cold atoms. In this article, we review the recent progress on the hidden symmetry properties in the simplest high spin fermionic systems with hyperfine spin F=3/2, which may be realized with atoms of ¹³²Cs, ⁹Be, ¹³⁵Ba, ¹³⁷Ba, and ²⁰¹Hg. A generic SO(5) or isomorphically, Sp(4) symmetry is proved in such systems with the s-wave scattering interactions in optical traps, or with the on-site Hubbard interactions in optical lattices. Various important features from this high symmetry are studied in the Fermi liquid theory, the mean field phase diagram, and the sign problem in quantum Monte-Carlo simulations. In the s-wave quintet Cooper pairing phase, the half-quantum vortex exhibits the global analogue of the Alice string and non-Abelian Cheshire charge properties in gauge theories. The existence of the quartetting phase, a four-fermion counterpart of the Cooper pairing phase, and its competition with other orders are studied in one-dimensional spin-3/2 systems. We also show that counter-intuitively quantum fluctuations in spin-3/2 magnetic systems are even stronger than those in spin-1/2 systems.

The famous Hoyle state (0₂⁺ at 7.654 MeV in ¹²C) is identified as being an almost ideal condensate of three α-particles, hold together only by the Coulomb barrier. It, therefore, has a ⁸Be-α structure of low density. Transition probability and inelastic form factor together with position and other physical quantities are correctly reproduced without any adjustable parameter from our two parameter wave function of α-particle condensate type. The possibility of the existence of α-particle condensed states in heavier nα nuclei is also discussed.

Alternatively to pairing, four-particle correlations may become of importance for the formation of quantum condensates in nuclear matter. With increasing density, four-particle correlations are suppressed because of Pauli blocking. Signatures of α-like clusters are expected to occur in low-density nuclear systems. The famous Hoyle state (0_2⁺ at 7.654 MeV in ¹²C) is identified as being an almost ideal condensate of three α-particles, hold together only by the Coulomb barrier. It, therefore, has a ⁸Be-α structure of low density. Transition probability and inelastic form factor together with position and other physical quantities are correctly reproduced without any adjustable parameter from our two parameter wave function of α-particle condensate type. The possibility of the existence of α-particle condensed states in heavier nα nuclei is also discussed.