Folding model analysis of alpha radioactivity

Radioactive decay of nuclei via emission of alpha-particles has been studied theoretically in the framework of a superasymmetric fission model using the double folding (DF) procedure for obtaining the alpha-nucleus interaction potential. The DF nuclear potential has been obtained by folding in the density distribution functions of the alpha nucleus and the daughter nucleus with a realistic effective interaction. The M3Y effective interaction has been used for calculating the nuclear interaction potential which has been supplemented by a zero-range pseudo-potential for exchange along with the density dependence. The nuclear microscopic alpha-nucleus potential thus obtained has been used along with the Coulomb interaction potential to calculate the action integral within the WKB approximation. This subsequently yields calculations for the half-lives of a decays of nuclei. The density dependence and the exchange effects have not been found to be very significant. These calculations provide reasonable estimates for the lifetimes of alpha-radioactivity of nuclei.