Lifetimes of the $α$ decay chains of superheavy element 115

Abstract

The lifetimes of the consecutive $α$ decay chains of recently synthesized new element 115, $^{287}115$ and $^{288}115$, have been calculated theoretically within the WKB approximation using microscopic $α$-nucleus interaction potentials obtained by folding in the densities of the $α$ and the daughter nuclei with a realistic effective interaction. M3Y effective interaction, supplemented by a zero-range pseudo-potential for exchange along with the density dependence, has been used for calculating the nuclear interaction potentials. Spherical charge distributions have been used for calculating the Coulomb interaction potentials. These calculations provide consistent estimates for the lifetimes of the consecutive $α$ decay chains of the superheavy element 115.