  The E1(T=1) isovector dipole giant resonance (GDR) in heavy and super-heavy
deformed nuclei is analyzed over a sample of 18 rare-earth nuclei, 4 actinides
and three chains of super-heavy elements (Z=102, 114 and 120). Basis of the
description is self-consistent separable RPA (SRPA) using the Skyrme force
SLy6. The self-consistent model well reproduces the experimental data (energies
and widths) in the rare-earth and actinide region. The trend of the resonance
peak energies follows the estimates from collective models, showing a bias to
the volume mode for the rare-earths isotopes and a mix of volume and surface
modes for actinides and super-heavy 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
about one third to the width and about 1 MeV further broadening can be
associated to mechanism beyond the mean-field description (escape, coupling
with complex configurations).
