English

$\alpha$ Decay Half-life Estimation and Uncertainty Analysis

Nuclear Theory 2020-05-20 v1

Abstract

The non-parametric bootstrap method is used to evaluate the uncertainties of two α\alpha decay formulas, the universal decay law (UDL) and the new Geiger-Nuttall law (NGNL). Such a method can simultaneously obtain the uncertainty of each parameter, the correlation between each pair of parameters, and the total, statistical, and systematic uncertainties of each formula. Both even-even (ee) nuclei and odd-A (oA) nuclei are used in the analysis. The collected data are separated into three parts: ee nuclei, oA nuclei without spin or parity change (oA\_nc), and oA nuclei with spin and/or parity change (oA\_c). Based on the residues between observed data and corresponding calculations, the statistical and systematic uncertainties are decomposed from the total uncertainty, from which one can clarify the effects from the shell structure, pairing, and angular momentum change on describing α\alpha decay half-life. If N>126N > 126 and N126N \leqslant 126 nuclei are considered together, the systematic uncertainty of residues between observed and predicted half-lives are larger than if those groups are considered separately. Without shell correction term, a much larger systematic uncertainty is found if parameters obtained for N126N \leqslant 126 nuclei are used to describe the half-lives of N>126N > 126 nuclei. A global hindrance on the α\alpha decay process is found in oA\_nc (oA\_c) nuclei comparing with ee (oA\_nc) nuclei. If parameters obtained from ee (oA\_nc) nuclei are used, the half-lives of oA\_nc (oA\_c) nuclei are generally underestimated with large systematic uncertainties, which can be related to the contribution of pairing effect and angular momentum. The recently observed superallowed decay from 104^{104}Te to 100^{100}Sn is also discussed based on uncertainty analysis. (Abstract is not fully presented because of length limitation)

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2004.00964,
  title  = {$\alpha$ Decay Half-life Estimation and Uncertainty Analysis},
  author = {Boshuai Cai and Guangshang Chen and Jiongyu Xu and Cenxi Yuan and Chong Qi and Yuan Yao},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2004.00964},
  year   = {2020}
}

Comments

To be published in Physical Review C

R2 v1 2026-06-23T14:36:40.864Z