Entrance channel dependent hot fusion reactions for superheavy element synthesis

Abstract

We have studied the compound nucleus probability, the survival probability, and the evaporation residue cross sections for 6645 projectile-target combinations to synthesize the superheavy nuclei with atomic numbers $Z=110$--126 in the light of the entrance channel effects such as mass asymmetry, charge asymmetry, isospin asymmetry, non-compound nuclear fission probability, and Businaro-Gallone mass asymmetry. The role of quasifission in every reaction has also been considered. Decay chains of various superheavy nuclei produced from the reactions are portrayed as well. The most striking results are that the measured evaporation residue cross sections are of the order of picobarns, whereas the proposed reactions can yield up to microbarn cross sections for the superheavy nuclei with $110\ensuremath{\le}Z\ensuremath{\le}126$. We suggest future experiments may utilize these hot fusion reactions to synthesize new elements ($Zg118$) or to study the properties of the known superheavy nuclei in greater detail. In particular, a proposed reaction containing both projectiles and targets that are naturally abundant, for example, $_{36}^{82}\mathrm{Kr}+_{90}^{232}\mathrm{Th}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}^{314}126+0n$, yields evaporation residue cross sections as high as 31 nb. The presently available experimental setup can test the prediction with ease to make a dream come true by putting a footstep into the eighth row of the periodic table.