Surface alpha clustering

Abstract

The problem of alpha decay is discussed on the basis of a theory which describes discrete and continuous states in a unified manner. A formula for numerical calculations is given in which configurational mixing as well as channel coupling is taken into account. The $R$-matrix approximation is shown to be justified if the width is spread over a small number of decay channels. Generally, renormalization of the wave function is necessary if a factorization of the width is assumed. The importance of channel coupling for the case of a small reduced width is discussed.