Calculation of decay half-lives for superheavy elements using the double folding model

α decay half-lives of some new synthesized superheavy elements, possibly synthesized superheavy elements and decay products are calculated theoretically within the WKB approximation by using microscopic m-nucleus interaction potentials. These nuclear potentials between the α particle and daughter nuclei are obtained by using the double folding integral of the matter density distribution of the α particle and daughter nuclei with a density-dependent effective nucleon-nucleon interaction, in which the zero-range exchange term is supplemented. The calculated α decay half-lives are compared with those of the different models and experimental data. It is shown that the present calculation successfully provides the half-lives of the observed αdecays for some new superheavy elements and therefore gives reliable predictions for α decay of possibly synthesized superheavy elements in future experiments.     

Search for decay modes of heavy and superheavy nuclei

Spontaneous fission(SF) with a new formula based on a liquid drop model is proposed and used in the calculation of the SF half-lives of heavy and superheavy nuclei(Z = 90–120). The predicted half-lives are in agreement with the experimental SF half-lives. The half-lives of decay(AD) for the same nuclei are obtained by using the Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin(WKB) method together with Bohr-Sommerfeld(BS) quantization condition considering the isospin-dependent effects for the cosh potential. The decay modes and branching ratios of superheavy nuclei(Z =104-118) with experimental decay modes are obtained, and the modes are compared with the experimental ones and with the predictions found in the literature. Although some nuclei have predicted decay modes that are different from their experimental decay modes, decay modes same as the experimental ones are predicted for many nuclei. The SF and AD half-lives, branching ratios, and decay modes are obtained for superheavy nuclei(Z = 119–120) with unknown decay modes and compared with the predictions obtained in a previous study. The present results provide useful information for future experimental studies performed on both the AD and SF of superheavy nuclei.     

Alpha decay half-lives of heavy nuclei within a generalized liquid drop model

Theoretical α-decay half-lives of the heaviest nuclei are calculated using the experimental Q_α value. The barriers in the quasi-molecular shape path is determined within a Generalized Liquid Drop Model (GLDM) and the WKB approximation is used. The results are compared with calculations using the Density-Dependent M3Y (DDM3Y) effective interaction and the Viola-Seaborg-Sobiczewski (VSS) formulae. The calculations provide consistent estimates for the half-lives of the α decay chains of these superheavy elements. The experimental data stand between the GLDM calculations and VSS ones in the most time.     

Systematic studies on α-decay half-lives for super heavy nuclei

Radioactive decay of super heavy nuclei via the emission of α-particles has been studied theoretically in the preformed cluster model （PCM）. The nucleus-nucleus （NN） potential is obtained by double folding the density distributions of the α-particle and the daughter nucleus with a realistic effective interaction. The M3Y effective interaction, supplemented by a zero-range pseudo-potential for exchange term, is used to calculate the NN potential. The α decay half-lives for 317 nuclei at Z=102 120 are performed in the PCM framework with the theoretical Q values extracted from the MSller-Nix-Kratz and Liran-Marinov-Zeldes mass tables and are compared with the experimental data. The calculated results are also compared with those obtained by using Q values from the Muntian-Hofmann-Patyk-Sobiczewski and Myers-Swiatecki mass estimates.     

Systematic studies on α-decay half-lives for super heavy nuclei

Radioactive decay of super heavy nuclei via the emission of α-particles has been studied theoretically in the preformed cluster model (PCM). The nucleus-nucleus (NN) potential is obtained by double folding the density distributions of the α-particle and the daughter nucleus with a realistic effective interaction. The M3Y effective interaction, supplemented by a zero-range pseudo-potential for exchange term, is used to calculate the NN potential. The α decay half-lives for 317 nuclei at Z=102–120 are performed in the PCM framework with the theoretical Q values extracted from the Mller-Nix-Kratz and Liran-Marinov-Zeldes mass tables and are compared with the experimental data. The calculated results are also compared with those obtained by using Q values from the Muntian-Hofmann-Patyk-Sobiczewski and Myers-Swiatecki mass estimates.     

α Decay Properties of Even-Even Nuclei~(296-308)120 Within the Two-Potential Approach

In the present work,we predict the α decay half-lives of unknown even-even nuclei ~(296-308)120 within the two-potential approach,whose α decay energy Qa is calculated using WS3+mass model.To reduce the deviations between the predictions and experimental data due to nuclear shell effect,the analytic formula of α decay hindrance factor is introduced to the two-potential approach,whose parameters had been extracted from even-even nuclei in the region of 82 Z 126 and 152 N 184 in our previous work [Deng et al.,Chin.Phys.C 42(2018) 044102].In addition,for comparing,we use a type of α decay general formula Universal Decay Law(UDL) and a semi-empirical formula in the superheavy nucleus(SEMFLS) to calculate the half-lives of even-even nuclei ~(296-308)120.The results indicate that our predicted values and the calculated values of the above two empirical formulas are mutually confirmed.Meanwhile,we systematically study α decay chains of ~(296-308)120 and predict the decay modes for superheavy nuclei to help to identify new superheavy isotopes.     

Alpha decay half-lives of heavy nuclei within a generalized liquid drop model

Theoretical α-decay half-lives of the heaviest nuclei are calculated using the experimental Qα value. The barriers in the quasi-molecular shape path is determined within a Generalized Liquid Drop Model (GLDM) and the WKB approximation is used. The results are compared with calculations using the DensityDependent M3Y (DDM3Y) effective interaction and the Viola-Seaborg-Sobiczewski (VSS) formulae. The calculations provide consistent estimates for the half-lives of the α decay chains of these superheavy elements. The experimental data stand between the GLDM calculations and VSS ones in the most time.     

α decay energies and half-lives from a macroscopic-microscopic model

α decay energies of 323 heavy nuclei with Z≥82 are evaluated with a macroscopic-microscopic model. In this model, the macroscopic part is treated by the continuous medium model and the microscopic part consists of shell and pairing corrections based on the Nilsson potential. α decay half-lives are calculated by Viola-Seaborg formula. The results of α decay energies and half-lives are compared with experimental values and satisfactory agreement is found. The recoiling effect of the daughter nucleus on α decay half-life is also discussed.     

Systematic Study on Alpha Decay Half-Lives of Superheavy Nuclei

The α-decay half-lives of a set of superheavy nuclear isotope chain from Z = 105 to 120 have been analyzed systematically within the WKB method, and some nuclear structure features are found. The decay barriers have been determined in the quasi-molecular shape path within the Generalized Liquid Drop Model (GLDM) including the proximity effects between nucleons in a neck and the mass and charge asymmetry. The results are in reasonable agreement with the published experimental data for the alpha decay half-lives of isotopes of charge 112, 114, and 116, of the element 294118 and of some decay products. A comparison of present calculations with the results by the DDM3Y effective interaction and by the Viola-Seaborg-Sobiczewski (VSS) formulae is also made. The experimental α decay half lives all stand in between the GLDM calculations and VSS formula results. This demonstrates the possibility of these models to provide reasonable estimates for the half-lives of nuclear decays by α emissions for the domain of SHN. The half-lives of these new nuclei are thus well tested from the reasonable consistence of the macroscopic, the microscopic, the empirical formulae and the experimental data. This also shows that the present data of SHN themselves are consistent.It could suggest that the present experimental claims on the existence of new elements Z = 110 ～ 118 are reliable.It is expected that greater deviations of a few SHN between the data and the model may be eliminated by further improvements on the precision of the measurements.     

Research on some superheavy nuclei

Studies on some superheavy nuclei are performed. The α decay energies are calculated by an improved local binding energy formula, and the α decay half-lives are calculated by the Viola-Seaborg formula. Good agreements between theoretical and experimental results are reached.     

Research on some superheavy nuclei

Studies on some superheavy nuclei are performed. The α decay energies are calculated by an improved local binding energy formula, and the α decay half-lives are calculated by the Viola-Seaborg formula. Good agreements between theoretical and experimental results are reached.     

Effects of shell correction on α decay properties

The shell correction effects on the α decay properties of heavy and superheavy nuclei have been studied in a macroscopic-microscopic manner. The macroscopic part is constructed from the generalized liquid drop model(GLDM), whereas the microscopic part, namely, the shell correction energy, brings about certain effects on the potential barriers and half-lives under a WKB approximation, which is emphasized in this work. The results show that the shell effects play a significant role in the estimation of the α decay half-lives within the actinide region.Predictions of the α decay half-lives are then generated for superheavy nuclei, which will provide useful information for future experiments.     

Systematic Study on Alpha Decay Half-Lives of Superheavy Nuclei

The α-decay half-lives of a set of superheavy nuclear isotope chain from Z = 105 to 120 have been analyzed systematically within the WKB method, and some nuclear structure features are found. The decay barriers have been determined in the quasi-molecular shape path within the Generalized Liquid Drop Model （GLDM） including the proximity effects between nucleons in a neck and the mass and charge asymmetry. The results are in reasonable agreement with the published experimental data for the alpha decay half-llves of isotopes of charge 112, 114, and 116, of the element 294118 and of some decay products. A comparison of present calculations with the results by the DDM3Y effective interaction and by the Viola-Seaborg-Sobiczewski （VSS） formulae is also made. The experimental a decay half lives all stand in between the GLDM calculations and VSS formula results. This demonstrates the possibility of these models to provide reasonable estimates for the half-lives of nuclear decays by a emissions for the domain of SHN. The half-lives of these new nuclei are thus well tested from the reasonable consistence of the macroscopic, the microscopic, the empirical formulae and the experimental data. This also shows that the present data of SHN themselves are consistent. It could suggest that the present experimental claims on the existence of new elements Z =110 - 118 are reliable. It is expected that greater deviations of a few SHN between the data and the model may be eliminated by further improvements on the precision of the measurements.     

Theoretical approaches to alpha decay half-lives of super-heavy nuclei

We consider the systematics of α-decay half-lives of super-heavy nuclei versus the decay energy and the total α-kinetic energy. We calculate the half-lives using the experimental Q_α values. The computed half-lives are compared with the experimental data and with existing empirical estimates and are found to be in good agreement.Also, we obtain α-preformation factors from the ratio between theoretical and experimental results for some superheavy nuclei and evaluate the standard deviation. The results indicate the acceptability of the approach.     

Competition between α-decay and β-decay for heavy and superheavy nuclei

In this work, the β-stable region for Z 90 is proposed based on a successful binding energy formula.The calculated β-stable nuclei in the β-stable region are in good agreement with the ones obtained by Mo¨ller et al. The half-lives of the nuclei close to the β-stable region are calculated and the competition between α-decay andβ-decay is systematically investigated. The calculated half-lives and the suggested decay modes are well in line with the experimental results. The decay modes are mostly β--decay above the β-stable region. Especially for Z 111,all the decay modes are β--decay. Regarding the nuclei above the β-stable region, α-decay and β--decay(α+β-)can occur simultaneously when Z 112. This is a very interesting phenomenon. The competition between α-decay and β-decay is very complex and drastic below the β-stable region. The predictions for half-lives and decay modes of the nuclei with Z =107–110 are presented in detail.     

An improved semi-empirical relationship for cluster radioactivity

An improved semi-empirical relationship for cluster radioactivity half-lives is proposed by introducing an accurate charge radius formula and an analytic expression of the preformation probability.Moreover,the cluster radioactivity half-lives for the daughter nuclei around ²⁰⁸Pb or its neighbors and the ¹²C radioactivity half-life of114Ba are calculated within the improved semi-empirical relationship.It is shown that the accuracy of the new relationship is improved significantly compared to its predecessor.In addition,the cluster radioactivity half-lives that are experimentally unavailable for the trans-lead and trans-tin nuclei are predicted by the new semi-empirical formula.These predictions might be useful for searching for the new cluster emitters of the two islands in future experiments.     

Isospin effect on spontaneous fission half-lives of even-even nuclei

By using a new five-parameter formula derived from the WKB approximation, we systematically calculate the spontaneous fission half-lives of even-even nuclei with Z=90—108. The isospin effect is taken into account in the new formula. The calculated half-lives agree well with the experimental data. In addition, we predict the spontaneous fission half-lives of superheavy nuclei with Z=108—114. Our predictions may provide references for future experiments.     

Model-independent trend of α-preformation probability

The α-preformation probability is directly deduced from experimental α decay energies and half-lives in an analytical way without any modified parameters. Several other model-deduced results, are used to compare with that of the present study. The key role played by the shell effects in the α-preformation process is indicated in all these cases. In detail, the α-preformation factors of different theoretical extractions are found to have similar behavior for one given isotopic chain, implying the model-independent varying trend of the preformation probability of α particle. In addition, the formation probability of heavier particle in cluster radioactivity is also obtained, and this confirms the relationship between the cluster preformation factor and the product of the cluster and daughter proton numbers.     

Competition between α-decay and β-decay for heavy andsuperheavy nuclei

In this work, the β-stable region for Z≥90 is proposed based on a successful binding energy formula. The calculated β-stable nuclei in the β-stable region are in good agreement with the ones obtained by Möller et al. The half-lives of the nuclei close to the β-stable region are calculated and the competition between α-decay and β-decay is systematically investigated. The calculated half-lives and the suggested decay modes are well in line with the experimental results. The decay modes are mostly β^--decay above the β-stable region. Especially for Z≤111, all the decay modes are β^--decay. Regarding the nuclei above the β-stable region, α-decay and β^--decay (α+β^-) can occur simultaneously when Z≥112. This is a very interesting phenomenon. The competition between α-decay and β-decay is very complex and drastic below the β-stable region. The predictions for half-lives and decay modes of the nuclei with Z=107-110 are presented in detail.     

Theoretical Calculation for Half-Lives of Spherical Proton Emitters

Half-lives of the proton radioactivity for spherical proton emitters are investigated theoretically in the Wentzel- Kramers-Brillouin approximation. Microscopic proton-nucleus interaction potentials are obtained by folding the densities of the residual daughter nuclei with renormalized M3Y effective interactions. We also take the spectroscopic factor （Sp） into account in the calculation, which is evaluated in the relativistic mean field approach using the force NL3. The calculated results are found to be in good agreement with the experimental data.