Critical view of WKB decay widths

Journal Article · Sat Dec 15 04:00:00 EST 2007 · Physical Review. C, Nuclear Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVC.76.064605· OSTI ID:21067983

Kelkar, N G; Castaneda, H M ^[1]

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1. Departamento de Fisica, Universidad de los Andes, Cra.1E No.18A-10, Bogota (Colombia)

A detailed comparison of the expressions for the decay widths obtained within the semiclassical WKB approximation using different approaches to the tunneling problem is performed. The differences between the available improved formulas for tunneling near the top and the bottom of the barrier are investigated. Though the simple WKB method gives the right order of magnitude of the decay widths, a small number of parameters are often fitted. The need to perform the fitting procedure remaining consistently within the WKB framework is emphasized in the context of the fission model based calculations. Calculations for the decay widths of some recently found superheavy nuclei using microscopic alpha-nucleus potentials are presented to demonstrate the importance of a consistent WKB calculation. The half-lives are found to be sensitive to the density dependence of the nucleon-nucleon interaction and the implementation of the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization condition inherent in the WKB approach.

• OSTI ID: 21067983
• Journal Information: Physical Review. C, Nuclear Physics, Journal Name: Physical Review. C, Nuclear Physics Journal Issue: 6 Vol. 76; ISSN 0556-2813; ISSN PRVCAN
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
DENSITY
FISSION
HALF-LIFE
HEAVY NUCLEI
NUCLEAR DECAY
NUCLEAR POTENTIAL
NUCLEON-NUCLEON INTERACTIONS
QUANTIZATION
SEMICLASSICAL APPROXIMATION
TRANSACTINIDE ELEMENTS
TUNNEL EFFECT
WKB APPROXIMATION