Exploring the uncertainties in theoretical predictions of nuclear β-decay half-lives

Nuclear beta-decay half-lives are predicted based on an empirical formula and the mass predictions from various nuclear models. It is found that the empirical formula can reproduce the nuclear beta-decay half-lives well, especially for short-lived nuclei with T112 < 1 s. The theoretical half-life uncertainties from beta-decay energies and the parameters of the empirical formula are further investigated. It is found that the uncertainties of the half-lives are relatively large for heavy nuclei and nuclei near the neutron-drip line. For nuclei on the r-process path, the uncertainties for those with N = 126 are about one order of magnitude, which are much larger than the uncertainties for those with N = 50 and 82. However, theoretical uncertainties from the parameters of the empirical formula are relatively small for the nuclei on the r-process path, which indicates that the empirical formula is very suitable for predicting the beta-decay half-lives in r-process simulations.

Automated summary

The nuclear beta-decay half-lives are predicted using an empirical formula and mass predictions from various nuclear models. The empirical formula performs well in predicting half-lives, especially for short-lived nuclei. The uncertainties in half-life calculations mainly come from beta-decay energies and parameters of the empirical formula, with heavier nuclei and those near the neutron-drip line having relatively large uncertainties.