  We present a microscopic model for the calculation of alpha-decay half lives
employing potentials obtained from relativistic and non-relativistic
self-consistent mean-field models. The nuclear and Coulomb potentials are used
to obtain the tunneling probability and, in one model variant, also the
knocking frequency. The model contains only one parameter. We compare this
approach employing several modern mean-field parametrizations to experimental
data and to the semi-empirical Viola-Seaborg systematics. We extrapolate our
model to superheavy nuclei where assumptions entering semi-empirical approaches
might lose validity.

Nuclear Theory