Role of quasiparticle structure in α decay of superheavy nuclei

Abstract

We use the superfluid tunneling model (STM) to calculate the half-lives of \ensuremath{\alpha} decays of odd-$A$ and odd-odd superheavy nuclei (SHN) with $Z\ensuremath{\ge}100$ and $A\ensuremath{\ge}250$. The experimental data are reproduced to accuracies comparable to other contemporary models of the \ensuremath{\alpha} decay of the SHN. We then apply the STM to examine the influence of the quasiparticle structure on the properties of the chains of \ensuremath{\alpha} decays arising from odd-$A$ SHN. Using representative calculations of the one-quasi-particle structure of odd-$Z$ and odd-$N$ SHN, we illustrate the important role played by high-\ensuremath{\Omega} orbitals in defining the observed characteristics of the \ensuremath{\alpha}-decay chains. We point out sources of possible ambiguity that may arise due to the quasiparticle structure when assigning \ensuremath{\alpha}-decay chains to specific SHN.