  The total cross section of 12C(alpha,gamma)16O was measured for the first
time by a direct and ungated detection of the 16O recoils. This measurement in
inverse kinematics using the recoil mass separator ERNA in combination with a
windowless He gas target allowed to collect data with high precision in the
energy range E=1.9 to 4.9 MeV. The data represent new information for the
determination of the astrophysical S(E) factor.
