Recently discovered $\alpha$ decays with new or improved data, covering naturally occurring $\alpha$ emitters with long lifetimes, short-lived ones approaching the proton drip line, and decays of heavy and superheavy elements, have been studied in a systematic investigation within the modified two-potential approach for deformed nuclei by constructing the microscopic double-folding potential. It is found that the experimental half-lives are well reproduced in the density-dependent cluster model. Some predictions on natural $\alpha$ emitters and $\alpha$ decays of several proton emitters are made in this study. Moreover, the $\alpha$-decay half-lives of even-even superheavy nuclei with $Z=110$–114 and $N=184$–194 are estimated to pursue the quite stable nuclei around the proton $Z\sim 114$ and neutron $N\sim 184$ shell closures. These predictions can be useful for future experiments aimed at searching for long-lived natural elements.

• Received 12 October 2011

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.84.064307