How large is the spreading width of a superdeformed band?

Recent models of the decay out of superdeformed (SD) bands can broadly be divided into two categories. One approach is based on the similarity between the tunneling process involved in the decay and that involved in the fusion of heavy ions, and it builds on the formalism of nuclear reaction theory. The other arises from an analogy between the superdeformed decay and transport between coupled quantum dots. These models suggest conflicting values for the spreading width of the decaying superdeformed states. In this paper, the decay of superdeformed bands in the five even-even nuclei in which the SD excitation energies have been determined experimentally is considered in the framework of both approaches, and the significance of the difference in the resulting spreading widths is considered. The results of the two models are also compared to tunneling widths estimated from previous barrier height predictions and a parabolic approximation to the barrier shape.