The synthesis and identification of superheavy nuclei have taken a dramatic turn recently with the emergence of hot fusion reactions. Such new methods have enabled the synthesis and identification of superheavy elements with $Z=114\text{−}116$ and 118. The identification of such elements is mainly done by observing their α-decay chains terminating with spontaneous fission events. In such studies, the role played by the shapes of superheavy elements has assumed great significance. In this work, we use the Shanmugam-Kamalaharan model for α decay, which is versatile in accounting for the shapes and deformations of the parent and the daughter nuclei as well as the charge redistribution (also termed charge equilibration) process during the decay. Our calculations turn out to be very useful for the identification of superheavy elements.

• Received 25 May 2005

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.72.034310