Can extreme electromagnetic fields accelerate the $α$ decay of nuclei?

Abstract

The possibility to control the $α$ decay channel of atomic nuclei with electromagnetic fields of extreme intensities envisaged for the near future at multi-petawatt and exawatt laser facilities is investigated theoretically. Using both analytic arguments based on the Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin approximation and numerical calculations for the imaginary time method applied in the framework of the $α$ decay precluster model, we show that no experimentally detectable modification of the $α$ decay rate can be observed with super-intense lasers at any so-far available wavelength. Comparing our predictions with those reported in several recent publications, where a considerable or even giant laser-induced enhancement of the decay rate has been claimed, we identify there the misuse of a standard approximation.