Tetrahedral Symmetry in Superheavy Nuclei

Key words: 
• shell model /
• tetrahedral symmetry /
• superheavy nuclei

Abstract: The projected energy surface calculations based on the reflection asymmetric shell model predict that nucleus ³¹⁰126 is the doubly magic nucleus next to ²⁰⁸Pb and has a tetrahedral shape in its ground state.The tetrahedral symmetry-driven quantal effects may lead to an increase of binding energy of the ground state by about 13 MeV with respect to the corresponding spherical shape, indicating the importance of inclusion of the tetrahedral degree of freedom in calculations for the heaviest nuclei. The results show that the tetrahedral symmetry-driven quantal effects can significantly increase the fission barriers and therefore result in increased survival probabilities of superheavy nuclei.