REVIEW ON THEORETICAL STUDIES OF SUPERHEAVY NUCLEI

Abstract

Superheavy elements have provided a good test of the validity of both nuclear structure models and nuclear decay models in a large mass region. We firstly review the recent progress on theoretical studies of superheavy nuclei. Emphasis is placed on the structure and decay of superheavy nuclei. Then theoretical results of odd-odd nuclei with Z = 109 - 115 are presented and discussed. It is clearly demonstrated that there is shape coexistence for the ground state of many superheavy nuclei from different models and many superheavy nuclei are deformed. In some cases superdeformation can become the ground state of superheavy nuclei and it is important for future studies of superheavy nuclei. This can lead to the existence of low-energy isomers in the superheavy region and it plays an important role for the stability of superheavy nuclei. As α-decay and spontaneous fission plays a crucial role for identifications of new elements, we also review some typical models of α-decay half-lives and spontaneous fissions half-lives. Some new views on superheavy nuclei are presented.