Microscopic description of spontaneous fission based on a Gogny energy density functional including tensor contributions

TL;DR

This study investigates how tensor forces in the Gogny energy density functional influence spontaneous fission properties of heavy nuclei, revealing that tensor contributions significantly lower fission barriers and half-lives.

Contribution

It introduces a perturbative tensor term into the Gogny-D1S functional and analyzes its effects across various heavy isotopes, expanding understanding of tensor forces in fission dynamics.

Findings

Tensor forces reduce fission barrier heights.

Tensor forces decrease spontaneous fission half-lives.

Impact observed across multiple heavy isotopic chains.

Abstract

This paper extends previous studies on the impact of tensor forces in fission dynamics of neutron-deficient Thorium isotopes to other isotopic chains of heavy actinides and low-mass super-heavy nuclei. Calculations are carried out within a mean-field framework based on the Gogny-D1S parametrization supplemented with the D1ST2a perturbative tensor term as driving force. Fission barrier heights and spontaneous fission half-lives are used as benchmarks to analyze the impact of the tensor term. A significant reduction of fission barrier heights and half-lives is associated to the tensor component of the force.