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Background: The structure of the Hoyle state, a highly $\alpha$-clusteredstate at 7.65 MeV in $^{12}\mathrm{C}$, has long been the subject of debate.Understanding if the system comprises of three weakly-interacting$\alpha$-particles in the 0s orbital, known as an $\alpha$-condensate state, ispossible by studying the decay branches of the Hoyle state. Purpose: The directdecay of the Hoyle state into three $\alpha$-particles, rather than through the$^{8}\mathrm{Be}$ ground state, can be identified by studying the energypartition of the 3 $\alpha$-particles arising from the decay. This paperprovides details on the break-up mechanism of the Hoyle stating using a newexperimental technique. Method: By using beta-delayed charged-particlespectroscopy of $^{12}\mathrm{N}$ using the TexAT (Texas Active Target) TPC, ahigh-sensitivity measurement of the direct 3 $\alpha$ decay ratio can beperformed without contributions from pile-up events. Results: A Bayesianapproach to understanding the contribution of the direct components via alikelihood function shows that the direct component is $<0.043\%$ at the 95\%confidence level (C.L.). This value is in agreement with several other studiesand here we can demonstrate that a small non-sequential component with a decayfraction of about $10^{-4}$ is most likely. Conclusion: The measurement of thenon-sequential component of the Hoyle state decay is performed in an almostmedium-free reaction for the first time. The derived upper-limit is inagreement with previous studies and demonstrates sensitivity to the absolutebranching ratio. Further experimental studies would need to be combined withrobust microscopic theoretical understanding of the decay dynamics to provideadditional insight into the idea of the Hoyle state as an $\alpha$-condensate.

Almost medium-free measurement of the Hoyle state direct-decay component with a TPC