L-Shell Ionization during the Alpha Decay of Superheavy Nuclei from 117 294 Ts Tennessine Decay Chain and the Alpha Decay of the Polonium Isotope 84 210 Po

Abstract

The probabilities for L-shell ionization following the alpha decay of 117 294 Ts, 113 286 Nh, 109 278 Mt, and 105 270 Db superheavy nuclei from the decay chain of tennessine, which was synthesized at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR Dubna), and the alpha decay of the isotope 84 210 Po are calculated and analyzed. The respective calculations rely on a quantum-mechanical model that takes into account alpha-particle tunneling through the Coulomb barrier of an atom. The relativistic electron wave functions obtained by the Dirac-Fock method were employed. The probabilities for L-shell ionization that were calculated here for the isotope 84 210 Po are in better agreement with experimental data than the results of earlier calculations. In contrast to what we have for K-shell ionization, where monopole transitions make a dominant contribution to the ionization probability, a significant contribution to the probability for L-shell ionization also comes from dipole and quadrupole transitions. The results of the present study will be of use in interpreting superheavy-element spectra obtained by methods of combined alpha, gamma, and electron-conversion spectroscopy.