Quest for a Universal Cluster Preformation Formula: A new paradigm for estimating the cluster formation energy

This study presents a holistic picture of the preformation of nuclear clusters with credence to the kinematics of their emissions. Besides the fitting of the preformation formula to reproduce the experimental half-lives, we have investigated the interrelationship between the parameters involved in the cluster decay process for medium, heavy and superheavy nuclei. Based on the established conceptual findings, we propose a new cluster preformation probability ($P_0$) formula that incorporates all influential parameters of the cluster radioactivity and thus has an edge over the existing formulae in the literature. Further, we hypothesize that a fraction of the decay energy is needed for cluster formation within the parent nucleus. The proposed formula opens a new paradigm to separately estimate the energy contributed during the cluster formation from its emission and thus shows that the contribution of the Q-value splits into three major parts accounting for the energy contributed during the cluster preformation, its emission and recoil of the daughter nucleus. Moreover, the expression $P_0$ is adept at accommodating the theorized concept of heavy particle radioactivity (HPR). The result reveals that, like $\alpha$-decay, a proper estimation of the $P_0$ and $Q$-value in the cluster studies are enriched with qualitative information about the nuclear structure. However, from the analysis, the Geiger-Nuttall law is not the best compromise in the clustering due to the non-linearity between $\log_{10}T_{1/2}$ and $\sqrt{Q}$, unlike in $\alpha$-decay. We have demonstrated that with the inclusion of the proposed formula, the half-life predictions from both microscopic R3Y and phenomenological M3Y NN potentials closely agree with the available experimental data and that the slight variation can be traced to their peculiar barrier characteristics.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, Journa

Cluster decay dynamics of Actinides yielding non-Pb-daughter

The cluster dynamics of radioactive nuclei decaying to neighbouring daughter nuclei of the double magic $^{132}$Sn and $^{208}$Pb is investigated using the relativistic mean-field (RMF) approach with NL3$^*$ parameter set within the preformed cluster-decay model (PCM). The novel feature of the present study is the application of the newly derived preformation formula, laying the groundwork for accessing the break-up of the Q-value: preformation energy, cluster emission energy and the recoil energy of the daughters formed. The energy associated with cluster preformation is theoretically quantified for the first time. This treatment underscores the shell effect, pairing correlation as well as the blocking of particular orbitals by unpaired nucleons. To ascertain the applicability of the new formula, the PCM based calculations are carried out with nuclear potential obtained using the phenomenological M3Y and microscopic RMF-based R3Y nucleon-nucleon (NN) potentials along with corresponding densities. We found a marginal variation that can be attributed to the difference in their barrier properties, however, the predictions for the case of both M3Y and R3Y potentials are found to agree well with the experimental half-lives. Although none of the considered reaction systems yields a double magic daughter nucleus, we found that the kinematics of their cluster emissions is governed by their proximity to the shell closure. The deduced systematic of the recoil energy in cluster decays can provide valuable insight for the synthesis of elements in superheavy mass region in the future.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, Journa

Preformation Probability and Kinematics of Clusters Emission yielding Pb-daughters

In the present study, the newly established preformation formula is applied for the first time to study the kinematics of the cluster emission from various radioactive nuclei, especially those decaying to the double-shell closure $^{208}$Pb nucleus and its neighbours as daughters. The recently proposed universal cluster preformation formula has been established based on the concepts that underscore the influence of the mass and charge asymmetry ($\eta_A$ and $\eta_Z$), cluster mass $A_c$ and the Q-value, paving the way to quantify the energy contribution during the preformation as well as the tunnelling process separately. The cluster-daughter interaction potential is obtained by folding the relativistic mean-field (RMF) densities with the recently developed microscopic R3Y using the NL$3^*$ and the phenomenological M3Y NN potentials to compare their adaptability. The penetration probabilities are calculated from the WKB approximation. With the inclusion of the new preformation probability $P_0$, the predicted half-lives from the R3Y and M3Y interactions are in good agreement with the experimental data. Furthermore, a careful inspection reflects slight differences in the decay half-lives, which arise from their respective barrier properties. The $P_0$ for the systems with the double magic shell closure $^{208}$Pb daughter are found to be relatively higher with an order of $\approx 10^2$ than those with neighbouring Pb-daughter nuclei. By exploring the contributions of the decay energy, the recoil effect of the daughter nucleus is appraised, unlike several other conjectures. Thus, the centrality of the Q-value in the decay process is demonstrated and re-defined within the preformed cluster-decay model. Besides, we have introduced a simple and intuitive set of criteria that governs the estimation of recoil energy in the cluster radioactivity.Comment: 09 Pages, 06 Figures, and 01 Tabl

Isotopic Shift in Hg-Isotopes within Brückner versus Relativistic Energy Density Functional

The present study is focused on revealing a characteristic kink of the neutron shell closure N = 126 across the Hg-isotopic chain within the relativistic mean-field (RMF) approach with the IOPB-I, DD-ME2, DD-PC1 and NL3 parameter sets. The RMF densities are converted to their spherical equivalence via the Wood–Saxon approximation and used as input within the parametrization procedure of the coherent density fluctuation model (CDFM). The nuclear matter symmetry energy is calculated using the Brückner energy density functional, and its surface, as well as volume components, are evaluated within Danielwicz’s liquid drop prescription. In addition, a comparison between Brückner and relativistic energy density functionals using the NL3 parameter set is shown as a representative case. The binding energy, charge distribution radius and symmetry energy are used as indicators of the isotopic shift in both ground and isomeric states. We have found the presence of a kink at the shell/sub-shell closure at N = 126 for neutron-rich 206Hg. The formation of the kink is traceable to the early filling of the 1i11/2 orbitals rather than 2g9/2, due to the large spin-orbit splitting. As such, the link between the occupational probability and the magicity of nuclei over the Hg-isotopic chain is established