Impact of nuclear rotation corrections on alpha decay half-lives of superheavy nuclei within 98 ≤ Z ≤ 120

Abstract

The influence of nuclear rotation on the decay half-lives of superheavy nuclei within the range 98≤Z≤120 is investigated using the axially deformed relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov theory in the continuum (DRHBc) with the PC-PK1 parameter set. The deduced DRHBc decay energies (with and without the rotation effect) are compared with those calculated from the macroscopic-microscopic WS4 and the available experimental binding energies. Six semi-empirical formulae, such as the Viola-Seaborg formula (VSS), the modified Brown formula (mB1), the semi-empirical relationship based on fission theory (SemFIS2), the Royer formula (R), the Wang formula (Wang) and the modified YQZR formula (MYQZR) are employed to estimate the half-lives of α decay. Among these formulae, the half-live predictions of SemFIS2 are found to gradually deviate from the systematic trend beyond Nd=184, showing that the probability of undergoing spontaneous fission is less feasible beyond this point. A minimum is observed at Nd=184, reflecting its neutron shell closure for the mass region considered on the nuclear chart. The results further indicate that, for 98≤Z≤104, the predictions of all semi-empirical formulae are more closely matched to the available experimental data when the rotation effect is taken into account. However, we have demonstrated that the effect of nuclear rotation gradually reduces as the atomic nucleus becomes heavier.