• Accepted Paper

Universal Z2/3/Qα scaling law in alpha decay from nuclei to neutron-star mergers

Hisham Anwer, B. Salah, and A. R. Abdulghany

Phys. Rev. D - Accepted 3 November, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/frbb-kjtm

Abstract

We establish a universal scaling law for α-decay half-lives based on the variable Xa=Za/Qα, which collapses experimental and theoretical data spanning over twenty orders of magnitude onto a single linear correlation. Global optimization over the complete set of even-even α emitters reveals a uniquely sharp optimum at a≃2/3. Strikingly, five structurally distinct semi-empirical models and an independent microscopic WKB calculation, when independently optimized with respect to the exponent a, yield values clustered around 2/3, while the corresponding a=2/3 correlations remain highly linear without refitting the original model parameters. This emergent scaling law implies smooth variations of decay times along the heavy r-process path. We demonstrate analytically that, given a roughly uniform distribution of this variable, the scaling law naturally supports a quasi-power-law radioactive heating rate (ϵ̇∝t−1.24), consistent with full network calculations. Furthermore, integrating these scaling predictions directly into nuclear source terms for radiative-diffusion models yields multimessenger observables that accurately reproduce the kilonova AT2017gfo associated with the gravitational-wave event GW170817, demonstrating that the Z2/3/Qα scaling coordinate provides a robust tool for modeling the radioactive engines of neutron-star mergers.

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