α -decay half-lives of superheavy nuclei

The alpha-decay half-lives of superheavy nuclei (SHN) with Z >= 104 are investigated by employing the effective liquid drop model (ELDM). By comparison between the calculated half-lives and the experimental ones, it is shown that the ELDM is a successful model to reproduce the experimental half-lives of SHN. Within the ELDM the alpha-decay half-lives of Z = 118-120 isotopes are predicted by inputting the alpha-decay energy (Q(alpha)) values extracted from the newest Weizsacker-Skyrme-4 (WS4) model, the finite-range droplet model (FRDM), the Kourra-Tachibaba-Uno-Yamada (KTUY) formula, and the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubovmean field with the D1S Gogny force (GHFB). It is found that the shell effects at N = 178 and 184 are evident by analyzing the Q(alpha) values and half-lives versus the neutron number N. Because the WS4 Q(alpha) values have the smallest rms deviation, the predicted alpha-decay half-lives could be more accurate than the ones of other models, which will be helpful for future experiments.