Actinide nuclei provide a suitable platform for studying laser-assisted nuclear $\alpha$ decay, with potential applications in nuclear transmutation, nuclear radiotherapy, and nuclear battery regulation. In the present work, we develop a deformed one-parameter model to quantitatively evaluate the impact of ultra-intense laser fields on the $\alpha$ decay of actinide nuclei. Our calculations demonstrate that, under laser intensities expected at near-future laser facilities, the $\alpha$-decay half-lives of these nuclei can be modified to a non-negligible extent, on the order of 0.01% to 0.1%. Furthermore, we reveal key insights into the laser-nucleus interaction: from the nuclear perspective, the laser field’s effect on $\alpha$ decay is governed by the nuclear shell structure and decay energy, with $\alpha$-emitting nuclei featuring lower decay energies and greater distance from neutron shell closures exhibiting higher susceptibility to laser fields. From the laser driver perspective, we proposed a bichromatic laser scheme to enhance the average effects of a single laser pulse on $\alpha$-tunneling probability. Specifically, with appropriate phase conditions and amplitude ratios, it is shown that a fundamental–second-harmonic ($\omega \text{−}2\omega$) bichromatic field can increase the time-averaged modification by one to two orders of magnitude.

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• Alpha decay
• Electromagnetic transitions
• Lifetimes & widths
• Nuclear structure & decays
• Photonuclear reactions
• A ≥ 220
• Laser techniques