Investigation of alpha decay half-lives within a modified Woods–Saxon potential

Abstract

The predictive accuracy of the unified fission model based on a modified Woods–Saxon potential (UFMWS) is assessed by systematically calculating the decay half-lives of alpha emitters from [Formula: see text] to [Formula: see text]. The computed results are compared with recent experimental data as well as with results obtained using different semi-empirical formulas. After confirming the performance of the UFMWS, we focus on the alpha decay of even-Z superheavy nuclei with [Formula: see text]. The comparison between the experimental and the theoretical alpha-decay energies extracted from four different mass tables as well as between the experimental half-lives and those calculated by UFMWS using the theoretical values have shown that the WS4 mass model is the most accurate in the region of superheavy nuclei. The alpha decay half-lives of the nuclei of interest have then been computed with the UFMWS by inputting the WS4 decay energies. The study of the neutron number variation of decay half-lives allowed to identify regions of increased stability and to predict neutron magic numbers.