Weak decays in superheavy nuclei

Abstract

Superheavy nuclei represent the heaviest atoms and nuclides known at the limit of mass and charge. The observed superheavy nuclei are all proton-rich; they decay primarily by emitting $\alpha$ particles and fission, with a possible small electron capture (EC) branch. Due to the huge atomic numbers and associated relativistic effects, EC-decays of superheavy systems are expected to differ from what is known in lighter nuclei. In this paper, using the quantified relativistic nuclear density functional theory and the quasiparticle random-phase approximation with the interaction optimized to experimental $\beta^-$-decay half-lives and Gamow-Teller resonance energies, we study the EC/$\beta^\pm$-decays in $Z = 101-118$ nuclei. Both allowed ($1^+$) and first-forbidden ($0^-, 1^-$ and $2^-$) transitions are considered. We show that the first-forbidden $1^-$ transitions dominate the decay rates in almost all studied nuclei. For proton-rich nuclei, EC dominates over $\beta^+$ decay. We identify 44 nuclei with EC/$\beta^+$ branching ratio larger than 5\%, indicating a possible competition with $\alpha$-decay and spontaneous fission channels.