The spin alignment of the 12C2+ state in inelastic scattering of 12C on 64Zn at E L: 65 MeV has been measured using the Y-recoil-in-flight method. Good agreement with coupled channel calculations are obtained. The sensitivity of the spin alignment to reaction models is discussed.Recent measurements of high resolution energy spectra for nuclei in excited states have shown that the m-state population of the excited states can be extracted from the line shape of the energy peaks [I-4] which are broadened due to the recoil of the Y-ray. The method has been applied in particular to the 12C2+(4.43 MeV) and 15N3/2-(6.33 MeV) states. The analysis of the inelastic scattering of 12C on 160 was complicated due to the fact that resonances occur in this system. In this note we show the results of measurements of the m-state population of 12C2+ in the scattering of 64Zn(12C,12C) 64Zn at 65 MeV. The analysis of this system in the frame work of the collective model poses no special problems and can serve as a test of the sensitivity of the m-state population on models.The experimental procedure using the Q3D magnetic spectrometer and the analysis of the spectra has been discussed previously in detail [2][3][4]. Fig. I shows a spectrum of the 12C2+ state measured at an angle of 28 ~ . A few weakly excited states of 64Zn are incorporated into the fit of the line shape. We measured a few angles. The extracted m-state population is shown in fig. 2 together with the results of the calculations. Only the density matrix elements Pmm for m= 0 and I are shown because of the normalisation ZPmm =I. mThe calculations were performed using the coupled channel code Ecis by Raynal to be made in the following way: first the m-state population of the "target" 12C is calculated for the inverse reaction 64Zn on 12C, then the quantisation axis is rotated by +180 degrees into the direction of the incident 12C beam and further by e L , the "laboratory" reaction angle, in order to achieve the same quantisation axis as in the experiment [6]. The parameters for the optical model and the inelastic form factor, which was chosen to be the derivative of the scattering potential, were taken from ref. 7 where the inelastic scattering of 12C on 62Ni was measured and analysed (table I). In view of this information the differential cross
