Description of the dipole giant resonance in heavy and superheavy nuclei within Skyrme random-phase approximation

The E1(T=1) isovector dipole giant resonance (GDR) in heavy and superheavy deformed nuclei is analyzed over a sample of 18 rare-earth nuclei, four actinides, and three chains of superheavy elements (Z=102, 114, and 120). The basis of the description is the self-consistent separable random-phase approximation (SRPA) using the Skyrme force SLy6. The model well reproduces the experimental data in the rare-earth and actinide regions. The trend of the resonance peak energies follows the estimates from collective models, showing a bias to the volume mode for the rare-earth isotopes and a mix of volume and surface modes for actinides and superheavy elements. The widths of the GDR are mainly determined by the Landau fragmentation, which in turn is found to be strongly influenced by deformation. A deformation splitting of the GDR can contribute to about one-third of the width, and about 1 MeV further broadening can be associated with mechanisms beyond the SRPA description (e.g., escape widths and coupling with complex configurations).