Exact dynamical approach to spherical ground-state proton emitters

The proton emission from ground-state spherical nuclei is investigated exactly through the numerical solution of the time-dependent Schrodinger equation for initial single-proton quasistationary states. Contrary to common belief, it is shown that such calculations can be performed for any proton half-life ranging from 10(-22)-20 s, the longest proton lifetime observed at present. The important and careful choice of the initial metastable state is clarified. Applied to the calculation of the decay width of several ground-state spherical emitters, this method gives comparable results with the distorted wave-Born approximation and therefore justifies its use.