Abstract
The analysis of fission events following the implantation of evaporation residues produced in the fusion reaction of 50Ti and 209Bi at different bombarding energies has revealed 5 millisecond decays, which are attributed to the spontaneous fission of proton-evaporation channels. The average cross sections for proton evaporation are found to be ∼100 and 10 times smaller than the largest neutron-evaporation channel cross section at the same excitation energy. These results suggest that the proton evaporation channel, albeit weak, may represent a realistic alternative to synthesize new, more neutron rich super heavy nuclei.
Highlights
The average cross sections for proton evaporation are found to be ∼100 and 10 times smaller than the largest neutron-evaporation channel cross section at the same excitation energy. These results suggest that the proton evaporation channel, albeit weak, may represent a realistic alternative to synthesize new, more neutron rich super heavy nuclei
The synthesis of new heavy isotopes addresses fundamental questions in nuclear physics, astrophysics and atomic physics: what is the extent of the nuclear chart and what are the properties of nuclei in extreme conditions of 5 charge and mass ? Can superheavy nuclei be produced in the nucleosynthesis processes by which the heaviest stable or very long-lived elements on earth have been produced ? What is the atomic organisation of these very heavy nuclei ? In recent years, a very successful way of producing heavier and heavier nuclei has been the use of fusion-evaporation reactions using 48Ca projectiles 10 and actinide targets [1]
This letter shows that the cross-section measured at SHIP was overestimated and gives the first experimental measurement for pxn 45 reaction cross sections leading to Rf nuclei at different bombarding energies
Summary
The synthesis of new heavy isotopes addresses fundamental questions in nuclear physics, astrophysics and atomic physics: what is the extent of the nuclear chart and what are the properties of nuclei in extreme conditions of 5 charge and mass ? Can superheavy nuclei be produced in the nucleosynthesis processes by which the heaviest stable or very long-lived elements on earth have been produced ? What is the atomic organisation of these very heavy nuclei ? In recent years, a very successful way of producing heavier and heavier nuclei has been the use of fusion-evaporation reactions using 48Ca projectiles 10 and actinide targets [1]. To go towards more neutron-rich nuclei, closer to the predicted “Island of Stability” [2], target materials such as 251Cf and 254Es 15 can be envisaged, though the procurement of such enriched targets in sufficient quantities is not an easy task Another route would be to produce new more neutron-rich isotopes via 1-proton and x neutron-evaporation reactions (pxn), for which transmission efficiencies into recoil separators are more or less the same as for the neutron-evaporation (xn) channels (in contrast to the αxn channel 20 which suffers from a large reduction in transmission). This letter shows that the cross-section measured at SHIP was overestimated and gives the first experimental measurement for pxn 45 reaction cross sections leading to Rf nuclei at different bombarding energies These results are compared to theoretical calculations and possible new avenues for synthesizing new heavy isotopes at the very top of the nuclear chart are discussed
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