Analysis of various competing binary and ternary decay processes of the Es253 nucleus

Abstract

The ground state binary and ternary decays of the $^{253}\mathrm{Es}$ radioactive nucleus are investigated using the quantum mechanical fragmentation theory (QMFT) based cluster decay models. First, the relative fragmentation of $^{253}\mathrm{Es}$ is analyzed within the framework of the preformed cluster model (PCM). The PCM-calculated binary fragmentation structure is explored for two types of nuclear potential, i.e., Yukawa plus exponential and proximity potentials. The structure of the fragmentation potential and the location of potential minima are found to be independent of the choice of nuclear potential. It is observed from binary fragmentation structures that $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ $(^{4}\mathrm{He})$ decay, cluster $(^{46}\mathrm{Ar})$ emission, heavy particle $(^{82}\mathrm{Ge})$ radioactivity, and spontaneous fission fragmentation $(^{125}\mathrm{In})$ are the possible ground state decay modes of the $^{253}\mathrm{Es}$ nucleus. The competitive emergence of these decay channels is explored by studying the preformation probability ${P}_{0}$, penetrability $P$, and half-lives ${T}_{1/2}$. The calculated half-lives of $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ and spontaneous fission match nicely with the experimental measurements. Also, the half-lives are predicted for cluster and heavy particle radioactivity, for which experimental verification would be of further interest. Further, an effort is made to explore the possibility of ternary fission (particle accompanied fission) for the decay of the $^{253}\mathrm{Es}$ nucleus using the three-cluster model (TCM), where $^{4}\mathrm{He}$ is observed to be the third fragment along with two binary fission fragments. A comparison of relative yields of binary and ternary fission confirm that the probability of the binary fission decay mode is larger than that of ternary fission. Moreover, closed shell effects play a significant role in the symmetric and asymmetric fission of binary and ternary fission, respectively.