Radiochemical study of the reactions of heavy ions with gold

Abstract

Thick gold foils have been bombarded with heavy-ion projectiles at energies above the Coulomb barrier. The radioactive products were identified and their yields measured using gamma-ray spectrometry and an extensive series of computer programs developed for the data analysis. The total mass-yield distribution was extracted from the data using charge-dispersion curves inferred from the experimental results. One observes a change in the mass-yield distributions corresponding to primarily fusion-fission tractions occurring with the lighter projectiles Ne-20 and Ar-40 and deep-inelastic transfer reactions predominating with heavier Kr-84, Kr-86, and Xe-136 projectiles. For the deep-inelastic transfer reaction, more mass transfer is seen to occur for a higher incident projectile energy, and the Gaussian distribution of products shows exponential tailing. The preferred direction for mass transfer is from gold to the projectile nucleus. Sequential fission is a likely fate for nucludes beyond the lead shell closure. The ''gold finger'' is explained as a combination of mass transfer, nucleon evaporation and sequential fission. The yields of gold nuclides indicate a superposition of two reaction mechanisms, quasi-elastic and deep-inelastic. The angular momentum involved with each mechanism determines which of two isomeric states is the end product of the nuclear reaction. Suggestions are offered regarding the possibility of synthesizing super-heavy elements by use of heavy-ion nuclear reactions.