Probing the structural evolution along the fission path in the superheavy nucleus $$^{256}$$Sg

Abstract

The evolution of structure property along the fission path in the superheavy nucleus $^{256}$Sg is predicted through the multi-dimensional potential-energy(or Routhian)-surface calculations,in which the phenomenological deformed Woods-Saxon potential is adopted. Calculated nuclear deformations and fission barriers for $^{256}_{106}$Sg$_{150}$ and its neighbors, e.g., $^{258,260}$Sg, $^{254}$Rf and $^{252}$No are presented and compared with other theoretical results. A series of energy maps and curves are provided and used to evaluate the corresponding shape-instability properties, especially in the directions of triaxial $\gamma$ and different hexadecapole deformations (e.g., $\alpha_{40}$, $\alpha_{42}$ and $\alpha_{44}$). It is found that the triaxial deformation may help the nucleus bypass the first fission-barrier of the axial case. After the first minimum in the nuclear energy surface, the fission pathway of the nucleus can be affected by $\gamma$ and hexadecapole deformation degrees of freedom. In addition, microscopic single-particle structure, pairing and Coriolis effects are briefly investigated and discussed.