Fission Properties for R-Process Nuclei

Abstract

We present a systematics of fission barriers and fission lifetimes for the whole landscape of superheavy elements (SHE), i.e., nuclei with Z≥100. The fission lifetimes are also compared with the α-decay half-lives. The survey is based on a self-consistent description in terms of the Skyrme-Hartree-Fock (SHF) approach. Results for various different SHF parametrizations are compared to explore the robustness of the predictions. The fission path is computed by quadrupole constrained SHF. The computation of fission lifetimes takes care of the crucial ingredients of the large-amplitude collective dynamics along the fission path, as self-consistent collective mass and proper quantum corrections. We discuss the different topologies of fission landscapes which occur in the realm of SHE (symmetric versus asymmetric fission, regions of triaxial fission, bimodal fission, and the impact of asymmetric ground states). The explored region is extended deep into the regime of very neutron-rich isotopes as they are expected to be produced in the astrophysical r process.