Eur. Phys. J. A (2024) 60: 226
https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/s10050-024-01444-x

Regular Article –Theoretical Physics

Competition of decay modes for $Z=119$ and $Z=120$ superheavy nuclei

¹ School of Science, Xinjiang Institute of Technology, 843100, Aksu, China
² School of Nuclear Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, 730000, Lanzhou, China
³ Frontiers Science Center for Rare Isotopes, Lanzhou University, 730000, Lanzhou, China
⁴ School of Physics, Xi’an Jiaotong University, 710049, Xi’an, China

^a zhyu@lzu.edu.cn
^b zhanghf@xjtu.edu.cn

Received: 28 September 2024
Accepted: 24 October 2024
Published online: 18 November 2024

Abstract

Synthesis of new elements with $Z\ge 119$ is currently a forefront issue in modern nuclear physics. The central question then arises as to the stability and decay properties of these new elements. In this study, the competition between $\alpha$-decay, spontaneous fission, cluster radioactivity, and $\beta$-decay in the isotopic chains of $Z=119$ and $Z=120$ was investigated using the finite-range droplet model (FRDM) and Weizsäcker -Skyrme model (WS4). The Royer formula, Karpov formula, Universal Decay Law, and Sobhani formula were applied to analyze each respective decay mode. It was found that cluster radioactivity and $\beta$-decay is at a disadvantage in these isotopic chains, with $\alpha$-decay and SF being the dominant decay modes. For nuclei with longer half-lives for the dominant decay modes, $\alpha$-decay tends to be the most prevalent. $N=184$ is a candidate for the neutron magic number based on WS4 and FRDM. In addition, the generalized liquid drop model with corrections for surface diffuseness effects was employed to study $\alpha$-decay across four different sets of mass models: FRDM, WS4, Koura–Tachibana–Uno–Yamada (KTUY) mass formula, and Niu2022. The calculation of $\alpha$-decay half-lives was further optimized through the use of the radial basis function network.