Structure and αα-decay properties of the heaviest nuclei

The αα-decay is considered from the viewpoint of the many body features of internal nuclear motion and the theory of resonance reactions, as well. The αα-half-lives are derived from clustering and scattering amplitudes given by self-consistent nuclear models for the nuclear shell structure and reaction dynamics. Calculations are performed for superheavy nuclei with Z=102–120Z=102–120 using the measured EαEα values, microscopic (shell model) or macroscopic (one body) cluster formation amplitudes and resonance scattering amplitudes. Theoretical results for αα-half-lives are compared to data and empirical estimates. We prove that the Brown systematics (logTαlogTα (s) vs. Zd0.6Qα−1/2, where QαQα (MeV) is the effective decay energy, and ZdZd is the charge number of the daughter nucleus) of current decay data is very useful in the analysis and interpretation of data and prediction of new results. It is shown that by adding even–odd corrections to the calculated αα-half-lives, the agreement with experimental data is improved and basic trends in the systematics of data are well reproduced. Spectroscopic information is derived from the ratio of theoretical to experimental results. The accuracy of available experimental half-lives is discussed.