Effect of Nucleon Pairing in the Spectra of <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis> = 50 Isotones

The emergence of the pairing effect of identical nucleons in the j = 9/2 state in low-lying excited states of nuclei near ⁹⁰Zr (N = 50, Z = 40) is discussed. Multiplets of states with seniority s ≥ 2, the splitting of which is determined by the proton pairing energy, are clearly visible in the nuclear spectra for a chain of N = 50 isotones. A comparison of the spectra of ground state multiplets, calculated in the δ-interaction approximation, with experimental data and results from other theoretical calculations shows this approach can be used to describe the structure of spectra and level positions with high J values.     

Systematic study of decay properties of heaviest elements

Decay properties and stability of heaviest nuclei with Z ?? 132 are studied within the macro-microscopical approach for nuclear ground-state masses. We use phenomenological relations for the half-lives with respect to ??-decay, ??-decay and spontaneous fission. Our calculations demonstrate that the ??-stable isotopes ²⁹¹Cn and ²⁹³Cn with a half-life of about 100 years are the longest-living superheavy nuclei located on the first island of stability. We found the second island of stability of superheavy nuclei in the region of Z ?? 124 and N ?? 198. It is separated from the ??continent?? by the ??gulf?? of short-living nuclei with half-lives shorted than 1 ??s.     

A systematic study of superheavy nuclei for Z = 114 and beyond using the relativistic mean field approach

We have studied the structural properties of even-even, neutron deficient, Z = 114–126, superheavy nuclei in the mass region A ∼ 270–320, using an axially deformed relativistic mean field model. The calculations are performed with three parameter sets (NL1, TM1 and NL-SH), in order to see the dependence of the structural properties on the force used. The calculated ground state shapes are found to be parameter dependent. For some parameter sets, many of the nuclei are degenerate in their ground state configuration. Special attention is given to the investigation of the magic structures (spherical shell closures) in the superheavy region. We find that some known magic numbers are absent and new closed shells are predicted. Large shell gaps appear at Z = 80, 92, (114), 120 and 138, N = 138, (164), (172), 184, (198), (228) and 258, irrespective of the parameter sets used. The numbers in parenthesis are those which correspond to relatively smaller gaps. The existence of new magic numbers in the valley of superheavy elements is discussed. It is suggested that nuclei around Z = 114 and N = 164 ∼ 172 could be considered as candidates for the next search of superheavy nuclei. The existence of superheavy islands around Z = 120 and N = 172 or N = 184 double shell closure is also discussed.     

Level densities of heaviest nuclei

The intrinsic level densities of superheavy nuclei in the α-decay chains of ^296,298,300120 are calculated using the single-particle spectra obtained with the modified two-center shell model. The role of the shell and pairing effects on the level density as well as their quenching with excitation energy are studied. The extracted level density parameter is expressed as a function of mass number, ground-state shell correction, and excitation energy. The results are compared with the phenomenological values of level density parameters used to calculate the survival of excited heavy nuclei.     

Binding energies of even-even superheavy nuclei in a semi-microscopic approach

The structure of some even-even superheavy nuclei with the proton number Z = 98?120 is studied using a semi-microscopic but not self-consistent model. The macroscopic energy part is obtained from the Skyrme nucleon-nucleon interaction in the semi-classical extended Thomas-Fermi approach. A simple but accurate method is derived for calculating the direct part of the Coulomb energy. The microscopic shell plus pairing energy corrections are calculated from the traditional Strutinsky method. Within this semi-microscopic approach, the total energy curves with the quadrupole deformation of the studied superheavy nuclei were calculated. The same approach features the well known ²⁰⁸Pb or ²³⁸U nuclei. For each nucleus the model predictions for the binding energy, the deformation parameters, the half-density radii and comparison with other theoretical models are made. The calculated binding energies are in good agreement with the available experimental data.     

Effect of properties of superheavy nuclei on their production and decay

Properties and stability of superheavy nuclei resulting from hot fusion are discussed. It is shown that the microscopic–macroscopic approach allows obtaining the closed proton shell at Z ≥ 120. Isotopic trends of K-isomeric states in superheavy nuclei are predicted. Evaporation residue cross sections in hot fusion reactions are calculated using the predicted properties of superheavy nuclei. Interruption of α decay chains by spontaneous fission is analyzed. Alpha decay chains through isomeric states are considered. Internal level densities in superheavy nuclei are microscopically calculated.     

Synthesis of superheavy nuclei in 48Ca+244Pu interactions

This article reports the results of experiments aimed at producing hypothetical long-lived superheavy elements located near the spherical-shell closures with Z≥114 and N≥72. For the synthesis of superheavy nuclei, we used a combination of neutron-rich reaction partners, with a ²⁴⁴Pu target and a ⁴⁸Ca projectile. The sensitivity of the present experiment exceeded by more than two orders of magnitude previous attempts at synthesizing superheavy nuclides in reactions of ⁴⁸Ca projectiles with actinide targets. We observed new decay sequences of genetically linked alpha decays terminated by spontaneous fission. The high measured alpha-particle energies, together with the long decay times and spontaneous fission terminating the chains, offer evidence for the decay of nuclei with high atomic numbers. The decay properties of the synthesized nuclei are consistent with the consecutive alpha decays originating from the parent nuclides ^288,289114, produced in the 3n-and 4n-evaporation channels with cross sections of about a picobarn. The present observations can be considered experimental evidence for the existence of the “island of stability” of superheavy elements and are discussed in terms of modern theoretical approaches.     

Superheavy nuclei in the RMF framework

The structure of superheavy even even nuclei is investigated using the self-consistent axially-deformed relativistic mean-field model (RMF) with BCS pairing. The isovector properties of the standard RMF ansatz are studied and the new RMF parameterization is tested with a better account for nuclei away of the line of stability. The heaviest even even nuclei are used as a benchmark to estimate the predictive power of the model.     

A pilgrimage through superheavy valley

We searched for the shell closure proton and neutron numbers in the superheavy region beyond Z = 82 and N = 126 within the framework of non-relativistic Skryme–Hartree–Fock (SHF) with FITZ, SIII, SkMP and SLy4 interactions. We have calculated the average proton pairing gap Δ_p, average neutron pairing gap Δ_n, two-nucleon separation energy S _2q and shell correction energy E _shell for the isotopic chain of Z = 112–126. Based on these observables, Z = 120 with N = 182 is suggested to be the magic numbers in the present approach.     

Search for superheavy elements in galactic cosmic rays

The charge distribution of approximately 6000 nuclei with charge numbers above 55 in galactic cosmic rays has been obtained in the OLIMPIYA project. Three superheavy nuclei with the charge numbers in the range 105 < Z < 130 have been detected. The regression analysis has provided a more accurate estimate of the charge number of one of these nuclei (119 _?6 ⁺¹⁰ with a probability of 95%). Such nuclei should form stability islands. Their detection in nature confirms theoretical predictions and justifies efforts for their synthesis under terrestrial conditions. The model calculations performed in this work possibly can explain the results of some experiments on the investigation of the charge composition of cosmic rays in which particles with charge numbers in the range 94 < Z < 100 were detected (they cannot enter into the composition of primary cosmic radiation because their lifetime is very short). The calculations indicate that events with Z > 92 are due to the fragmentation of heavier nuclei from the stability island, rather than to methodical inaccuracies or fault of instruments. Several such events have been revealed. Thus, the track method makes it possible to obtain the results very important for understanding of the physical picture of the world. The results obtained within the OLIMPIYA project show that the study of tracks of galactic cosmic rays in olivine crystals from meteorites opens new capabilities for the investigation of fluxes and spectra in cosmic rays in the region of heavy and superheavy nuclei.     

Systematic study of properties of Hs nuclei

The ground-state properties of Hs nuclei are studied in the framework of the relativistic mean-field theory. We find that the more relatively stable isotopes are located on the proton abundant side of the isotopic chain. The last stable nucleus near the proton drip line is probably the ²⁵⁵Hs nucleus. The a \alpha -decay half-lives of Hs nuclei are predicted, and together with the evaluation of the spontaneous-fission half-lives it is shown that the nuclei, which are possibly stable against spontaneous fission are ^263-274Hs . This is in coincidence with the larger binding energies per nucleon. If ^271-274Hs can be synthesized and identified, only those nuclei from the upper Z = 118 isotopic chain, which are lighter than the nucleus ²⁹⁴118 , and those nuclei in the corresponding a \alpha -decay chain lead to Hs nuclei. The most stable unknown Hs nucleus is ²⁶⁸Hs . The density-dependent delta interaction pairing is used to improve the BCS pairing correction, which results in more reasonable single-particle energy level distributions and nucleon occupation probabilities. It is shown that the properties of nuclei in the superheavy region can be described with this interaction.     

The synthesis and properties of superheavy nuclei produced in the 48Ca+244Pu, 248Cm reactions

We present the results of the experiments aimed at producing hypothetical long-lived superheavy elements located near the spherical shell closures with Z>-114 and N>-172. For the synthesis of superheavy nuclei a combination of neutron-rich reaction partners, such as ²⁴⁴Pu and ²⁴⁸Cm targets and a ⁴⁸Ca projectile have been used. The sensitivity of the present experiment exceeded by more than two orders of magnitude previous attempts to synthesize superheavy nuclides in reactions of ⁴⁸Ca projectiles with actinide targets. We observed new decay sequences of genetically linked α-decays terminated by spontaneous fission. The decay properties of the synthesized nuclei are consistent with the consecutive α-decays originating from the parent nuclides ^288,289114, produced in the 3n and 4n-evaporation channels, and ²⁹²116 — in the 4n-evaporation channel with cross sections of about a picobarn. The present observations can be considered an experimental evidence of the existence of the “island of stability” of superheavy elements and are discussed in terms of modern theoretical approaches.     

Effects of shell correction on α decay properties

The shell correction effects on the α decay properties of heavy and superheavy nuclei have been studied in a macroscopic-microscopic manner. The macroscopic part is constructed from the generalized liquid drop model(GLDM), whereas the microscopic part, namely, the shell correction energy, brings about certain effects on the potential barriers and half-lives under a WKB approximation, which is emphasized in this work. The results show that the shell effects play a significant role in the estimation of the α decay half-lives within the actinide region.Predictions of the α decay half-lives are then generated for superheavy nuclei, which will provide useful information for future experiments.     

Potential energy surfaces and fission fragment mass yields of even-even superheavy nuclei

Potential energy surfaces and fission barriers of superheavy nuclei are analyzed in a macroscopic-microscopic model. The Lublin-Strasbourg Drop (LSD) model is used to obtain the macroscopic part of the energy, whereas the shell and pairing energy corrections are evaluated using the Yukawa-folded potential; a standard flooding technique is utilized to determine barrier heights. A Fourier shape parametrization containing only three deformation parameters is shown to effectively reproduce the nuclear shapes of nuclei approaching fission. In addition, a non-axial degree of freedom is taken into account to better describe the structure of nuclei around the ground state and in the saddle region. In addition to the symmetric fission valley, a new highly asymmetric fission mode is predicted in most superheavy nuclei. The fission fragment mass distributions of the considered nuclei are obtained by solving 3D Langevin equations.     

Calculations of the β-decay half-lives of neutron-deficient nuclei

In this work,β~+/EC decays of some medium-mass nuclei are investigated within the extended quasiparticle random-phase approximation(QRPA),where neutron-neutron,proton-proton and neutron-proton(np) pairing correlations are taken into consideration in the specialized Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov(HFB) transformation.In addition to the pairing interaction,the Br¨uckner G-matrix obtained with the charge-dependent Bonn nucleon-nucleon force is used for the residual particle-particle and particle-hole interactions.Calculations are performed for even-even proton-rich isotopes ranging from Z =24 to Z =34.It is found that the np pairing interaction plays a significant role inβ-decay for some nuclei far from stability.Compared with other theoretical calculations,our calculations show good agreement with the available experimental data.Predictions of β-decay half-lives for some very neutron-deficient nuclei are made for reference.     

Charge-exchange resonances and restoration of Wigner’s supersymmetry in heavy and superheavy nuclei

Various facets of the question of whether Wigner’s supersymmetry [SU(4) symmetry] may be restored in heavy and superheavy nuclei are analyzed on the basis of a comparison of the results of calculations with experimental data. The energy difference between the giant Gamow–Teller resonance and the analog resonance (the difference of E _G and E _A) according to calculations based on the theory of finite Fermi systems is presented for the case of 33 nuclei for which experimental data are available. The calculated difference ΔE _G–A of E _G and E _A tends to zero in heavier nuclei, showing evidence of the restoration of Wigner’s SU(4) symmetry. Also, the isotopic dependence of the Coulomb energy difference between neighboring isobaric nuclei is analyzed within the SU(4) approach for more than 400 nuclei in the mass-number range of A = 5–244. The restoration of Wigner’s SU(4) symmetry in heavy nuclei is confirmed. It is shown that the restoration of SU(4) symmetry is compatible with the possible existence of the stability island in the region of superheavy nuclei.     

Synthesis of superheavy elements at the Dubna gas-filled recoil separator

A survey of experiments at the Dubna gas-filled recoil separator (Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions, JINR, Dubna) aimed at the detection and study of the “island of stability” of superheavy nuclei produced in complete fusion reactions of ⁴⁸Са ions and ²³⁸U–²⁴⁹Cf target nuclei is given. The problems of synthesis of superheavy nuclei, methods for their identification, and investigation of their decay properties, including the results of recent experiments at other separators (SHIP, BGS, TASCA) and chemical setups, are discussed. The studied properties of the new nuclei, the isotopes of elements 112–118, as well as the properties of their decay products, indicate substantial growth of stability of the heaviest nuclei with increasing number of neutrons in the nucleus as the magic number of neutrons N = 184 is approached.     

Shell structure and stability of nuclei with 270<A<500 and the possible existence of primordial superheavy nuclei

The self-consistent energy density method is applied to the study of the properties of superheavy nuclei with 270<A<500. The shell structure,α-decay energy andα-decay half-life are predicted for the heaviestβ-stable isotope of each even element. The characteristics of nuclear densities and single-particle potentials in the superheavy region are also examined, with a particular attention on the surface diffuseness. After an approximate calculation of their fission barrier heights, only a few heavy isotopes of elements 106 and 108 are predicted to have a small chance to be found in nature. Their possible formation by ther-process is discussed.     

On the stability of the transeinsteinium elements

We calculate ground-state properties of nuclei in the Z≧100 region. The most stable superheavy elements are predicted for lower neutron number than in previous investigations, namely ₁₁₀ ²⁸⁸ X and ₁₁₀ ²⁹⁰ X, both with a calculated half-life of around 200 days. A new feature is a local minimum in the ground-state shell correction at Z=110 andN=162. Elements in this region are therefore expected to show increased stability relative to some earlier expectations.