Shell structure and shapes of superheavy nuclei

Shell structure and shapes of superheavy nuclei are discussed. Both deformed and spherical nuclei are considered. Theoretical results obtained for even-even nuclei with the proton numberZ=82–120 and neutron numberN=126–190 are examined.     

On the stability of superheavy nuclei against fission

We use the methods, which we developed in a previous paper, for the calculation of potential energy surfaces and lifetimes for superheavy nuclei. Two regions of relative stability against spontaneous fission, which are connected with the magic proton numbersZ=114 andZ=164 and which will both become accessible for experiments in the near future, are discussed. Especially the nuclei aroundZ=164 are investigated here at the first time. The lifetimes for α-decay are also estimated and appear to be long enough for experimental work. Furthermore, we have investigated the dependence of the fission barrier on the level-distributions at the fermi-surface. At the end we discuss the difficulties in the usual microscopic calculations for the fission process and show a way to overcome the limitations and inconsistencies of the usually used Strutinsky-type calculations.

     

Lowering of calculated fission barriers of superheavy nuclei

The effect of angular momentum explicit conservation is evaluated in the framework of models which utilize single-particle wavefunctions to calculate fission barriers. Using simple assumptions, and extrapolating from known data, the calculated syperheavy barriers are lowered by 2 – 2.5 MeV. Fission barriers for the actinides are unaffected.     

Saddle-point shapes and fission barriers of rotating nuclei

This article reviews the work relating to the development of a rotating liquid drop model together with a chronology of its confrontation with the experimental interpretation of data. It is brought out that the zero temperature rotating finite range model is quite successful in the interpretation of data obtained from heavy ion-induced reactions. Operated by Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc., under contract DE-AC05-840R21400 with the U.S. Department of Energy.     

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.     

Isospin effect on spontaneous fission half-lives of even-even nuclei

By using a new five-parameter formula derived from the WKB approximation, we systematically calculate the spontaneous fission half-lives of even-even nuclei with Z=90—108. The isospin effect is taken into account in the new formula. The calculated half-lives agree well with the experimental data. In addition, we predict the spontaneous fission half-lives of superheavy nuclei with Z=108—114. Our predictions may provide references for future experiments.     

Heavy-particle radioactivity of superheavy nuclei

The concept of heavy-particle radioactivity (HPR) is changed to allow emitted particles with Z(e) > 28 from parents with Z > 110 and daughter around (208)Pb. Calculations for superheavy (SH) nuclei with Z = 104-124 are showing a trend toward shorter half-lives and larger branching ratio relative to α decay for heavier SHs. It is possible to find regions in which HPR is stronger than alpha decay. The new mass table AME11 and the theoretical KTUY05 and FRDM95 masses are used to determine the released energy. For 124 we found isotopes with half-lives in the range of ns to ps.     

Heavy and superheavy nuclei

The new elements 110, 111 and 112 were synthesized and unambiguously identified in experiments at SHIP. Due to strong shell effects the dominant decay mode is not fission, but emission of alpha particles. Theoretical investigations predict that maximum shell effects should exist in nuclei near proton number 114 and neutron number 184. Our measurements give hope that isotopes of element 114 close to the island of spherical Superheavy Elements could be produced by fusion reactions using ²⁰⁸Pb as target. Systematic studies of the reaction cross-sections indicate that transfer of nucleons is the important process to initiate the fusion.     

Interior electron shells in superheavy nuclei

The interior electron shells for superheavy nuclei (90≦Z≦250) have been investigated. Their binding energies are tabulated together with the vacuum polarization corrections for the various levels.     

Search for delayed fission products from superheavy nuclei in the reaction136Xe+208Pb

The production of superheavy elements in binary reactions of the type²⁰⁸Pb (¹³⁶Xe, X) Y was investigated atE _c.m.=470 MeV. The experiment was designed to search for delayed fission products from elements withZ between 108 and 116 and fission lifetimes ofΤ?10^?12 s. No fission events were observed the upper limit for the formation cross section being 1.2 Μbarn.     

Microscopic description of superheavy nuclei

The results of extensive microscopic relativistic mean field (RMF) calculations for the nuclei appearing in the α-decay chains of recently discovered superheavy elements with 109  Z  118 are presented and discussed. The calculated ground-state properties like total binding energies, Q-values, deformations, radii, and densities closely agree with the corresponding experimental data, where available. The root mean square radii closely follow A^1/3 law (A being the mass number) with the constant r_o = 0.9639 ± 0.0005 fm. The double folding (tρρ) approximation is used to calculate the interaction potential between the daughter and the α, using RMF densities along with the density-dependent nucleon–nucleon interaction (M3Y). This in turn is employed within the WKB approximation to estimate the half-lives without any additional parameter for α-decay. The half-lives are highly sensitive to the Q-values used and qualitatively agree with the corresponding experimental values. The use of experimental Q-values in the WKB approximation improves the agreement with the experiment, indicating that the resulting interaction potential is reliable and can be used with confidence as the real part of the optical potential in other scattering and reaction processes.     

Survivability of excited superheavy nuclei

The survivability of even-even and odd superheavy nuclei is analyzed on the basis of a statistical model and various theoretical predictions for nuclear properties. In this analysis, use is made of various methods for computing level densities. For Z<114 nuclei, calculations on the basis of all models predicting nuclear properties lead to close values for the ratio of the width with respect to the neutron channel to the width with respect to the fission channel. For Z≥114 nuclei, different values are obtained for this ratio. The dependence of the results on model parameters is discussed. The collective-enhancement factor in the level density is taken into account in the calculations.     

Fission process of superheavy nuclei

The process of fusion-fission of superheavy nuclei with Z=102?122 formed in the reactions with ²²Ne, ²⁶Mg, ⁴⁸Ca, ⁵⁸Fe and ⁸⁶Kr ions at energies near and below the Coulomb barrier has been studied. The experiments were carried out at the U-400 accelerator of the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions (JINR) using a time-of-flight spectrometer of fission fragments CORSET and a neutron multi-detector DEMON. As a result of the experiments, mass and energy distributions of fission fragments, fission and quasi-fission cross sections, multiplicities of neutrons and gamma rays and their dependence on the mechanism of formation and decay of compound superheavy systems have been studied.     

Calculated properties of superheavy nuclei

Ground-state properties of the heaviest nuclei are analyzed within a macroscopic-microscopic approach. The main attention is paid to such properties as deformation, deformation energy, energy of the first rotational state 2⁺ of a nucleus, and the branching ratio of α decay to this 2⁺ state with respect to the decay to the ground state 0⁺. The analysis concerns the problem of experimental confirmation of theoretically predicted deformed shapes of superheavy nuclei situated in the region around the nucleus ²⁷⁰Hs. A large region of even-even nuclei with proton, Z=82–128, and neutron, N=126–190, numbers is considered.     

Research on some superheavy nuclei

Studies on some superheavy nuclei are performed. The α decay energies are calculated by an improved local binding energy formula, and the α decay half-lives are calculated by the Viola-Seaborg formula. Good agreements between theoretical and experimental results are reached.     

超重原子核与超重元素

研究超重原子核和超重元素,探索原子核的电荷和质量极限,是重要的科学前沿领域。超重原子核的存在源于量子效应。上个世纪60年代,理论预言存在一个以质子数114和中子数184为中心的超重稳定岛,这极大地促进了重离子加速器及相关探测设备的建造和重离子物理的发展。到目前为止, 实验室合成了118号及之前的超重元素。其中116号、114号和113号以下的新元素已被命名。利用重离子熔合反应合成更重的超重元素还面临着很多挑战,需要理论与实验密切结合,探索超重原子核性质与合成机制,以登上超重稳定岛。文章概要介绍了超重原子核和超重元素的研究背景、实验进展以及面临的挑战,并展望了未来的发展。     

Doubly magic properties in superheavy nuclei

A systematic study of global properties of superheavy nuclei in the framework of the Liquid Drop Model and the Strutinsky shell correction method is performed. The evolution equilibrium deformations, TRS graphs and α-decay energies are calculated using the TRS model. The analysis covers a wide range of even-even superheavy nuclei from Z =102 to 122. Magic numbers and their observable influence occurring in this region have been investigated. Shell closures appear at proton number Z =114 and at neutron number N =184.     

Doubly magic properties in superheavy nuclei

A systematic study of global properties of superheavy nuclei in the framework of the Liquid Drop Model and the Strutinsky shell correction method is performed. The evolution equilibrium deformations, TRS graphs and α-decay energies are calculated using the TRS model. The analysis covers a wide range of even-even superheavy nuclei from Z=102 to 122. Magic numbers and their observable influence occurring in this region have been investigated. Shell closures appear at proton number Z=114 and at neutron number N=184.