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.     

Gound State Properties of Nuclei in ^295118 α-Decay Chain

The properties of nuclei belonging to the α-decay chain of superheavy element ^295118 have been studied in the framework of axially deformed relativistic mean field （RMF） theory with the parameter set of NL-Z2 in the blocked BCS approximation. Some ground state properties such as binding energies, deformations, and α-decay energies Qα have been obtained and agree well with those from finite-range droplet model （FRDM）. The single-particle spectra of nuclei in ^295118 α-decay chain show that the shell gaps present obviously nucleon number dependence. The root-mean-square （rms） radii of proton, neutron and matter distributions change slowly from ^283112 to ^295118 but dramatically from ^279110 to ^283112, which may be due to the subshell closure at Z = 110 in ^279110. The α-decay half-lives in 295118 decay chain are evaluated by employing the cluster model and the generalized liquid drop model （GLDM）, and the overall agreement is found when they are compared with the known experimental data. The α-decay lifetimes obtained from the cluster model are slightly larger than those of GLDM ones. Finally, we predict the α-decay half-lives of Z=118, 116, 114, 112 isotopes using the cluster model and GLDM, which also indicate these two models can corroborate each other in studies on superheavy nuclei. The results from GLDM are always lower than those obtained from the cluster model.     

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.     

α-decay half-lives of superheavy nuclei and general predictions

The generalized liquid drop model （GLDM） and the cluster model have been employed to calculate the α-decay half-lives of superheavy nuclei （SHN） using the experimental α-decay Q values. The results of the cluster model are slightly poorer than those from the GLDM if experimental Q values are used. The prediction powers of these two models with theoretical Q values from Audi et al. （QAudi） and Muntian et al. （QM） have been tested to find that the cluster model with QAudi and QM could provide reliable results for Z 〉 112 but the GLDM with QAudi for Z 112. The half-lives of some still unknown nuclei are predicted by these two models and these results may be useful for future experimental assignment and identification.     

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.     

Calculations of the β-decay half-lives of neutron-deficient nuclei

In this work,β~+/EC decays of some medium-mass nuclei are investigated within the extended quasiparticle random-phase approximation(QRPA),where neutron-neutron,proton-proton and neutron-proton(np) pairing correlations are taken into consideration in the specialized Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov(HFB) transformation.In addition to the pairing interaction,the Br¨uckner G-matrix obtained with the charge-dependent Bonn nucleon-nucleon force is used for the residual particle-particle and particle-hole interactions.Calculations are performed for even-even proton-rich isotopes ranging from Z =24 to Z =34.It is found that the np pairing interaction plays a significant role inβ-decay for some nuclei far from stability.Compared with other theoretical calculations,our calculations show good agreement with the available experimental data.Predictions of β-decay half-lives for some very neutron-deficient nuclei are made for reference.     

Half-lives and fine structure for the α decay of deformed even-even nuclei

The α-decay properties of well-deformed even-even nuclei are systematically calculated within the multichannel cluster model (MCCM). Instead of working in the WKB framework, the quasibound solution to the coupled Schro¨dinger equation is presented with outgoing wave boundary conditions, and the coupling potential is taken into full account in terms of the general quantum theories. The calculated α-decay half-lives are found to agree well with the experimental data with a mean factor of less than 2. The fine...     

Quasiparticle structure of superheavy nuclei in α-decay chains of ~(285)Fl and ~(291,293)Lv

Two mean-field potentials, Woods-Saxon and Skyrme based potentials, are used to calculate the energies of low-lying one-quasiparticle states. The spectra of the low-lying states and the α-decay spectra of nuclei belonging to the α-decay chains of ~(285)Fl and ~(291,293)Lv are calculated and compared with the available experimental data. Dependence of the splitting of the pseudospin doublets and of the energies of the unique parity neutron one-quasiparticle states on the mean field potential are discussed. As shown, the α-decay spectra could be different in the α-decay chain and at the direct production of the nucleus in a fusion reaction.     

Alpha-decay branching ratios to high-lying excited-states of the ^242Cm → ^238Pu → ^234U → ^230Th → ^226Rn decay chain

We present a systematic calculation on the α-decay branching ratios to excited-states of an even-even α-decay chain ^242Cm → ^238Pu → ^234U → ^230Th → ^226Rn by the improved barrier penetration approach. The changes of the parities between the parent nuclei and the daughter nuclei are properly taken into account. The theoretical values are compared with the available experimental data and the deviation between them is within a factor of 5 in most cases.     

Ground State Properties of Superheavy Nuclei in Macroscopic-Microscopic Model

The ground state properties of superheavy nuclei are systematically calculated by the macroscopic- microscopic （MM） model with the Nilsson potential. The calculations well produced the ground state binding energies, α-decay energies, and half lives of superheavy nuclei. The calculated results are systematically compared with available experimental data. The calculated results are also compared with theoretical results from other MM models and from relativistic mean-field model. The calculations and comparisons show that the MM model is reliable in superheavy region and that the MM model results are not very sensitive to the choice of microscopic single-particle potential.     

Global α-decay study based on the mass table of the relativistic continuum Hartree-Bogoliubov theory

The α-decay energies(Qα) are systematically investigated with the nuclear masses for 10 Z 120 isotopes obtained by the relativistic continuum Hartree-Bogoliubov(RCHB) theory with the covariant density functional PC-PK1, and compared with available experimental values. It is found that the α-decay energies deduced from the RCHB results present a similar pattern to those from available experiments. Owing to the large predicted Qαvalues( 4 Me V), many undiscovered heavy nuclei in the proton-rich side and super-heavy nuclei may have large possibilities for α-decay. The influence of nuclear shell structure on α-decay energies is also analysed.     

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.     

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.     

Ground State Properties of New Element Z=113 and Its Alpha Decay Chain

We investigate the ground state properties of the new element ^278 113 and of the α-decay chain with different models, where the new element Z=113 has been produced at RIKEN in Japan by cold-fusion reaction [Morita et al. J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 73 (2004) 2593]. The experimental decay energies are reproduced by the deformed relativistic mean-field model, by the Skyrme-Hartree-Fock (SHF) model, and by the macroscopic-microscopic model.Theoretical half-lives also reasonably agree with the data. Calculations further show that prolate deformation is important for the ground states of the nuclei in the α-decay chain of ^278 113. The common points and differences among different models are compared and discussed.     

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.     

Half-Lives of Superheavy Nuclei in Z=113 Alpha Decay Chain

The generalized liquid drop model （GLDM）, including the proximity effects and centrifugal potential, and the cluster model with Cosh potential are used to study the half-lives of some Z = 113 isotopes and their α-decay products. The experimental half-lives of 284^113, 283^113, 282^113 and their α-decay products are well reproduced by the two models when zero angular momenta transfer is assumed. For 278^113 and its α-decay products, both the GLDM and the duster model could provide satisfactory results if we assume the α particle carry five units of angular momenta, which indicates that possible nonzero angular momenta transfer and need further experimental measurements with high precision. Finally, we show that half-lives of α-decay are quite sensitive to the angular momentum transfers, and a formula could be used to describe the correlation between α-decay half-life and angular momentum transfer successfully.     

Reflection-Asymmetric Shell Model Description of the Neutron-Rich^142，145Ba Nuclei

The reflection asymmetric shell model has been applied to describe the octupole deformed bands in neutron-rich even-even ^142Ba and odd-N^145Ba nuclei. The alternating parity bands of ^142Ba and the simplex s = -i bands of^145Ba are calculated and compared with the available experimental data. The calculated results are in good agreement with the experimental data. The spin and parity assignments of ground-state of^145Ba are discussed.The results show that the present work is a useful attempt to further explore the nuclear reflection asymmetry in neutron rich region.     

Systematical law of β+-decay half-lives of nuclei far from β-stable line

Experimental data of nuclear β⁺-decay half-lives are systematically analyzed and investigated. We present an exponential law between the half-life of β⁺-decay with the same forbiddenness and the nucleon number (Z,N) of parent nucleus far from the β-stable line. A formula with four parameters is proposed to describe the β⁺-decay half-lives of nuclei far from stability. Experimental β⁺-decay half-lives of the first and second forbidden transitions are well reproduced by this simple formula. The physics of the exponential law is related to the statistical properties of β⁺-decay far from β-stable line.     

Fully self-consistent calculation ofβ-decay half-lives within Skyrme energy density functional

β-decay half-lives of some magic and semi-magic nuclei have been studied in a fully self-consistent Skyrme Hartree-Fock(HF) plus charge-exchange random phase approximation(RPA).The self-consistency is addressed,in that the same Skyrme energy density functional is adopted in the calculation of ground states and Gamow-Teller excited states.First,the impact of J2 terms on the β-decay half-lives is investigated by using the SGII interaction,revealing a large influence.Subsequently,numerical calculations are performed for the selected nuclei with Skyrme energy density functionals SGII,LNS,SKX,and SAMi.Finally,comparisons to available experimental data and predictions of different theoretical models are discussed.