Theoretical studies on the modes of decay of superheavy nuclei

Abstract

The decay modes of recently synthesized superheavy nuclei are investigated by comparing the $\ensuremath{\alpha}$-decay half-lives with the spontaneous fission half-lives. $\ensuremath{\alpha}$-decay half-lives are calculated using the Coulomb and proximity potential model for deformed nuclei (CPPMDN). The agreement between theoretical and experimental $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ half-lives shows the predictability of the CPPMDN in the superheavy region. A modified formula is proposed for calculating the spontaneous fission half-lives including the shell correction. The agreement between theoretical predictions and experimental results of spontaneous fission half-lives is satisfactory for heavy and superheavy nuclei ranging from Th to Fl. A comparison between the spontaneous fission half-lives computed using eight different formalisms is performed for even-even superheavy nuclei in the range of $108\ensuremath{\le}Z\ensuremath{\le}120$. Even though all these models can reproduce the experimental spontaneous fission half-lives, model-to-model variations in predicting the fission half-lives in superheavy region is evident from the study.