Synthesis and study of atomic nuclei with Z > 100

Abstract

The studies of atomic nuclei with Z > 100 are closely related to the synthesis of new chemical elements and to the investigation of stability limits for the heaviest nuclides. From the mid-50s these studies have been carried out using intense heavy-ion beams and highly sensitive techniques designed for the physical and chemical identification of rare short-lived nuclei. The studies proceeded in two stages, the first one being characterized by the use of hot-fusion reactions between the U, Pu, Am, Cm and Cf target nuclei and the C, N, O, and Ne projectiles and the second being based on the use of the cold-fusion reactions induced by Cr, Mn, and Fe projectiles on Pb and Bi target nuclei. As a result, the chemical elements with atomic numbers from 102 to 109 have first been synthesized. The radioactive properties of over 40 isotopes of these elements have been investigated and unambiguous evidence has been obtained that shell effects play a decisive role for the stability of the Z ≳ 104 nuclei against spontaneous fission. This provides an experimental substantiation for the known hypothesis that the island of nuclear stability should lie around Z ⋍ 114 and N ⋍ 178 or 184. It has been proposed to synthesize elements with Z ≥ 110 by the complete fusion reactions of uranium and adjacent element nuclei with projectile nuclei such as Ar and Ca. The spontaneous fission of a product nucleus (a total of 26 events) has been observed in Dubna experiments with the 232Th + 44Ca and 236U + 40Ar reactions. The authors of those studies tentatively assigned this activity to the decay of the nuclei of element 110.