  Identification of alpha cluster states analogous to the 12C Hoyle state in
heavier alpha- conjugate nuclei can provide tests of the existence of alpha
condensates in nuclei. Such states are predicted for 16O, 20Ne, 24Mg, 28Si etc.
at excitation energies slightly above the multi-alpha particle decay threshold,
but have not yet been experimentally identified. The Thick Target Inverse
Kinematics (TTIK) technique can be used to study the breakup of excited
self-conjugate nuclei into many alpha particles. The reaction 20Ne+{\alpha} was
studied using a 20Ne beam at 12 MeV/nucleon from the K150 cyclotron at Texas
A&M University. The TTIK method was used to study both single {\alpha}-particle
emission and multiple {\alpha}-particle decays. Events with alpha multiplicity
up to four were analyzed. The analysis of the three {\alpha} - particle
emission data allowed the identification of the Hoyle state and other 12C
excited states decaying into three alpha particles. The results are shown and
compared with other data available in the literature. Although the statistics
for events with alpha multiplicity four is low, the data show a structure at
about 15.2 MeV that could indicate the existence in 16O of a state analogous to
the 12C Hoyle state. This structure is confirmed by the re-analysis of alpha
multiplicity four events from a previous experiment performed at 9.7
MeV/nucleon with a similar setup but lower granularity. Moreover, the
reconstructed excitation energy of 24Mg for these events peaks at around 34
MeV, very close to the predicted excitation energy for an excited state
analogous to the 12C Hoyle state in 24Mg.
