Competition between weak and α -decay modes in superheavy nuclei

9 pags., 7 figs., 3 tabs.The competition between α- and β+/EC-decay modes is studied systematically in nuclei along the α-decay chains following the synthesis of superheavy nuclei with Z=119 and Z=120. A microscopic approach based on deformed self-consistent Hartree-Fock mean-field calculations with Skyrme forces and pairing correlations is used to describe the β+ and electron capture weak decays, whereas the α decay is estimated from existing phenomenological expressions. It is shown that α decay is in most cases the dominant decay mode, but interesting instances are identified where the half-lives are comparable, opening the possibility of new pathways towards more neutron-rich nuclei in this region.This work was supported by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación MCI/AEI/FEDER,UE (Spain) under Contract No. PGC2018-093636-B-I0