Removal of forbidden states in a three-α system

The ground and excited 0$^+$ states of $^{12}$C are investigated in a 3$\alpha$ macroscopic model using the deep potential of Buck, Friedrich and Wheatley. The elimination of forbidden states is performed either by constructing the allowed state space explicitly or by using the orthogonalizing pseudopotential. The well-known enigmatic behavior of the latter approach is resolved. It is safe to define the forbidden states referring to the underlying microscopic model.