Investigation of $β$-decay properties of neutron-rich Cerium isotopes

Abstract

Reliable and precise knowledge of the $β$-decay properties of neutron-rich nuclei is important for a better understanding of the $r$-process. We report the computation of $β$-decay properties of neutron-rich Cerium isotopes calculated within the proton-neutron quasiparticle random phase approximation (pn-QRPA) approach. A total of 34 isotopes of Ce in the mass range $120 \leq A \leq 157$ were considered in our calculation. Pairing gaps are recognized amongst the key parameters in the pn-QRPA model to compute Gamow-Teller (GT) transitions. We employed two different values of the pairing gaps obtained from two different empirical formulae in our computation. The GT strength distributions changed considerably with changes in the pairing gap values. This, in turn, resulted in contrasting centroid and total strength values of the GT distributions and led to differences in calculated half-lives using the two schemes. The traditional pairing gaps resulted in significant fragmentation of GT strength. However, the pairing gaps, calculated employing the formula based on separation energies of neutron and proton, led to computed half-lives in better agreement with the measured data.