Nuclear energy density functional and the nuclear α decay

The nuclear α decay of heavy nuclei is investigated based on the nuclear energy density functional, which leads to the α potential inside the parent nucleus in terms of the proton and neutron density profiles of the daughter nucleus. We use the Skyrme force model, Gogny force model, and relativistic mean-field model to get the nucleon density profiles inside heavy nuclei. Once the nucleon density profiles are determined, the parameters of the nuclear α potential are fitted to the observed α decay half-lives of heavy nuclei. This approach is then applied to predict unknown α decay half-lives of heavy nuclei. To estimate the Q values of unobserved α decays, we make use of the liquid droplet model.