Systematic study of α half-lives of superheavy nuclei

Two different descriptions of the α-decay process, namely, the shell model rate theory and phenomenological description are emphasized to investigate the α-decay properties of superheavy nuclei (SHN). These descriptions are shortly presented and illustrated by their results. Special attention is given to the shell structure and resonance scattering effects due to which they exist and decay. A first systematics of α-decay properties of SHN was per- formed by studying the half-life vs. energy correlations in terms of atomic number and mass number. Such a systematics shows that the transitions between even-even nuclei are favored, while all other transitions with odd nucleons are prohibited. The accuracy of experimental and calculated α-half-lives is illustrated by the systematics of these results. (authors)