New recent experimental $α$ decay half-lives have been compared with the results obtained from previously proposed formulas depending only on the mass and charge numbers of the $α$ emitter and the Q$α$ value. For the heaviest nuclei they are also compared with calculations using the Density-Dependent M3Y (DDM3Y) effective interaction and the Viola-Seaborg-Sobiczewski (VSS) formulas. The correct agreement allows us to make predictions for the $α$ decay half-lives of other still unknown superheavy nuclei from these analytic formulas using the extrapolated Q$α$ of G. Audi, A. H. Wapstra, and C. Thibault [Nucl. Phys. A729, 337 (2003)].
It is shown that it is just Dubna that possesses the priority both in the recent synthesis of a superheavy nucleus with charge Z = 114 (Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions, JINR) and in its theoretical prediction (Bogoliubov Laboratory of Theoretical Physics, JINR) made 33 years ago. Possible sizes of the island of stability of superheavy nuclei are discussed.
Three different ways for description of binding energy of superheavy nuclei are discussed. First, one can consider superheavy nuclei as a part of a whole system of nuclei for which a global mass formula is found. Another way is the detailed local description of energy of superheavy nuclei taking into account the effects of shells and subshells. The third way of description, applied for nuclei in the region limited by principal magic numbers, is attached to the beta-stability line.
Negative results obtained in AMS searches by Dellinger et al. on mostly unrefined ores have led them to conclude that the very heavy long-lived species found in chemically processed samples with ICP-SFMS by Marinov et al. are artifacts. We argue that it may not be surprising that results obtained from small random samplings of inhomogeneous natural minerals would contrast with concentrations found in homogeneous materials extracted from large quantities of ore. We also point out that it is possible that the groups of counts at masses 296 and 294 seen by Dellinger et al. could be, within experi…
Sources of non-linear response of PIPS detector, when detecting highly ionizing particles like recoils (EVR), fission fragments and heavy ions, including formation of large pulse-height defect (PHD) are considered. An analytical formula to calculate the recombination component of EVR PHD is proposed on the base of surface recombination model with some empirical correction. PC-based simulation code for generating the spectrum of the measured recoil signal amplitudes of the heavy implanted nuclei is presented. The simulated spectra are compared with the experimental ones for the different facili…
Recent experimental advances have made it possible to study excited structure in superheavy nuclei. The observed states have often been interpreted as quasi-particle excitations. We show that in superheavy nuclei collective vibrations systematically appear as low-energy excitation modes. By using the microscopic Triaxial Projected Shell Model, we make a detailed prediction on gamma-vibrational states and their E2 transition probabilities to the ground state band in Fermium and Nobelium isotopes where active structure research is going on, and in 270Ds, the heaviest isotope where decay data hav…
The alpha decay half-lives of the recently produced isotopes of the 112, 114, 116 and 118 nuclei and decay products have been calculated in the quasi-molecular shape path using the experimental Qalpha value and a Generalized Liquid Drop Model including the proximity effects between nucleons in the neck or the gap between the nascent fragments. Reasonable estimates are obtained for the observed alpha decay half-lives. The results are compared with calculations using the Density-Dependent M3Y effective interaction and the Viola-Seaborg-Sobiczewski formulae. Generalized Liquid Drop Model predicti…
A formula for the relationship between the $α$-decay energies ($Q$ values) of superheavy nuclei (SHN) is presented, which is composed of the effects of Coulomb energy and symmetry energy. It can be employed not only to validate the experimental observations and measurements to a large extent, but also to predict the $Q$ values of heaviest SHN with a high accuracy generally which will be very useful for future experiments. Furthermore, the shell closures in superheavy region and the effect of the symmetry energy on the stability of SHN against $α$-decay are discussed with the help of this formu…
Potential energy surfaces and fission barriers of superheavy nuclei are analyzed in the macroscopic-microscopic model. The Lublin-Strasbourg Drop (LSD) 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 has been used to determine the barrier heights. It was shown the Fourier shape parametrization containing only three deformation parameters reproduces well the nuclear shapes of nuclei on their way to fission. In addition, the non-axial degree of freedom is taken in…
The alpha-decay half-lives of recently synthesized superheavy nuclei (SHN) are investigated based on a unified fission model (UFM) where a new method to calculate the assault frequency of alpha-emission is used. The excellent agreement with the experimental data indicates the UFM is a useful tool to investigate these alpha-decays. It is found that the half-lives become more and more insensitive to the Q_alpha values as the atomic number increases on the whole, which is favorable for us to predict the half-lives of SHN. In addition, a formula is suggested to compute the Q_alpha values for the n…
The paper presents the summary data of the authors' research within the framework of the OLIMPIYA project (the Russian acronym of {\bf OLI}viny iz {\bf M}eteoritov --- {\bf P}oisk tyazholykh {\bf I} sverkhtyazholykh {\bf YA}der / Olivines from meteorites: Search for heavy and superheavy nuclei) and results of track analysis for heavy cosmic ray nuclei (\emph{Z} = 26--129) in olivine crystals from meteorites using an original processing technique. A total of 21,743 tracks of nuclei heavier than iron have been identified in meteoritic matter to date to form the largest database within this charg…
Recently, experimental researches on the $α$ decay with long lifetime are one of hot topics in the contemporary nuclear physics [e.g. N. Kinoshita {\sl et al.} (2012) and J. W. Beeman {\sl et al.} (2012) ]. In this study, we have systematically investigated the extremely long-lived $α$-decaying nuclei within a generalized density-dependent cluster model involving the experimental nuclear charge radii. In detail, the important density distribution of daughter nuclei is deduced from the corresponding experimental charge radii, leading to an improved $α$-core potential in the quantum tunneling ca…
The alpha decay half-lives of recently synthesized superheavy nuclei (SHN) are calculated by applying a new approach which estimates them with the help of their neighbors based on some simple formulas. The estimated half-life values are in very good agreement with the experimental ones, indicating the reliability of the experimental observations and measurements to a large extent as well as the predictive power of our approach. The second part of this work is to test the applicability of the Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin (WKB) approximation for the quantum mechanical tunneling probability. We calc…
Recent microscopic calculation based on the density functional theory predicts long-lived superheavy elements in a variety of shapes, including spherical, axial and triaxial configurations. Only when N=184 is approached one expects superheavy nuclei that are spherical in their ground states. Magic islands of extra-stability have been predicted to be around Z=114, 124 or, 126 with N=184, and Z=120, with N=172. However, the question of whether the fission-survived superheavy nuclei with high Z and N would live long enough for detection or, undergo alpha-decay in a very short time remains open. I…
Potential energy surfaces of even-even superheavy nuclei are evaluated within the macroscopic-microscopic approximation. A very rapidly converging analytical Fourier-type shape parametrization is used to describe nuclear shapes throughout the periodic table, including those of fissioning nuclei. The Lublin Strasbourg Drop and another effective liquid-drop type mass formula are used to determine the macroscopic part of nuclear energy. The Yukawa-folded single-particle potential, the Strutinsky shell-correction method, and the BCS approximation for including pairing correlations are used to obta…
The fusion-by-diffusion model proposed by Swiatecki {\it et al.} [Phys. Rev. C71, 014602 (2005)] has provided a simple and convenient tool to estimate evaporation residue cross sections for superheavy nuclei. I extend this model by taking into account deformation of the target nucleus, and discuss the role of orientation of deformed target in hot fusion reactions at energies around the Coulomb barrier. To this end, I introduce an injection point for the diffusion process over an inner barrier which depends on the orientation angle. I apply this model to the $^{48}$Ca+$^{248}$Cm reaction and sh…
Cold reaction valleys in the radioactive decay of superheavy nuclei {286}^112, {292}^114 and {296}^116 are studied taking Coulomb and Proximity Potential as the interacting barrier. It is found that in addition to alpha particle, 8^Be, 14^C, 28^Mg, 34^Si, 50^Ca, etc. are optimal cases of cluster radioactivity since they lie in the cold valleys. Two other regions of deep minima centered on 208^Pb and 132^Sn are also found. Within our Coulomb and Proximity Potential Model half-life times and other characteristics such as barrier penetrability, decay constant for clusters ranging from alpha parti…
The triaxial-octupole Y$_{32}$ correlation in atomic nuclei has long been expected to exist but experimental evidence has not been clear. We find, in order to explain the very low-lying 2$^-$ bands in the transfermium mass region, that this exotic effect may manifest itself in superheavy elements. Favorable conditions for producing triaxial-octupole correlations are shown to be present in the deformed single-particle spectrum, which is further supported by quantitative Reflection Asymmetric Shell Model calculations. It is predicted that the strong nonaxial-octupole effect may persist up to the…
We study the effects of higher-order deformations $β_λ$ ($λ=4,6,8,$ and $10$) on the ground state properties of superheavy nuclei (SHN) near the doubly magic deformed nucleus $^{270}$Hs by using the multidimensionally-constrained (MDC) relativistic mean-field (RMF) model with five effective interactions PC-PK1, PK1, NL3$^{*}$, DD-ME2, and PKDD. The doubly magic properties of $^{270}$Hs are featured by the large energy gaps at $N=162$ and $Z=108$ in the single-particle spectra. By investigating the binding energies and single-particle levels of $^{270}$Hs in multidimensional deformation space, …
By using a newly developed di-nuclear system model with a dynamical potential energy surface---the DNS-DyPES model, hot fusion reactions for synthesizing superheavy nuclei (SHN) with the charge number Z = 112-120 are studied. The calculated evaporation residue cross sections are in good agreement with available data. In the reaction 50Ti+249Bk -> (299-x)119 + xn, the maximal evaporation residue (ER) cross section is found to be about 0.11 pb for the 4n-emission channel. For projectile-target combinations producing SHN with Z=120, the ER cross section increases with the mass asymmetry in the in…
Atomic nuclei are composite systems, and they may be dynamically excited during nuclear reactions. Such excitations are not only relevant to inelastic scattering but they also affect other reaction processes such as elastic scattering and fusion. The coupled-channels approach is a framework which can describe these reaction processes in a unified manner. It expands the total wave function of the system in terms of the ground and excited states of the colliding nuclei, and solves the coupled Shrödinger equations to obtain the $S$-matrix, from which several cross sections can be constructed. Thi…
Weak decays in superheavy nuclei with proton numbers Z = 118 - 120 and neutron numbers N = 175 - 184 are studied within a microscopic formalism based on deformed self-consistent Skyrme Hartree-Fock mean-field calculations with pairing correlations. The half-lives of beta+ decay and electron capture are compared with alpha-decay half-lives obtained from phenomenological formulas. The sensitivity of the half-lives to the unknown Q-energies is studied by comparing the results obtained from different approaches for the masses. It is shown that alpha-decay is always dominant in this mass region. Th…
A systematic study on the alpha decay half lives of various isotopes of superheavy element \textit{Z} = 121 within the range 290 $\leq$ A $\leq$ 339 is presented for the first time using Coulomb and proximity potential model for deformed nuclei (CPPMDN). The calculated $α$ decay half lives of the isotopes within our formalism match well with the values computed using Viola-Seaborg systematic, Universal curve of Poenaru et al., and the analytical formula of Royer. In our study by comparing the $α$ decay half lives with the spontaneous fission half lives, we have predicted $2α$ chain from $^{309…
We have studied properties and shell structure of the superheavy elements from Z=102 to Z=120 within the framework of the RMF theory. The region of study spans nuclides with neutron numbers N=150-190. The Lagrangian model NL-SV1 with the inclusion of the vector self-coupling of the omega-meson has been employed in this work. We have performed RMF + BCS calculations for an axially deformed configuration of nuclei. The ground-state binding energies, single-particle properties and quadrupole deformation of nuclei have been obtained from the mean-field minimizations. Two-neutron separation energie…
The stability of excited superheavy nuclei (SHN) with $100 \leq Z \leq 134$ against neutron emission and fission is investigated by using a statistical model. In particular, a systematic study of the survival probability against fission in the 1n-channel of these SHN is made. In present calculations the neutron separation energies and shell correction energies are consistently taken from the calculated results of the finite range droplet model which predicts an island of stability of SHN around Z=115 and N=179. It turns out that this island of stability persists for excited SHN in the sense th…
Theoretical estimates for the lifetimes of several isotopes of heavy elements with Z=102-120 are presented by calculating the quantum mechanical tunneling probability in a WKB framework and using microscopic nucleus-nucleus potential obtained by folding the densities of interacting nuclei with the DDM3Y effective nuclear interaction. The $α$-decay half lives calculated in this formalism using the experimental $Q$-values are in good agreement over a wide range of experimental data. Half lives are also calculated using $Q$-values extracted from two mass formulae. The Viola-Seaborg-Sobiczewski (V…
We have investigated properties of $α$-decay chains of recently produced superheavy elements Z=115 and Z=113 using the new Lagrangian model NL-SV1 with inclusion of the vector self-coupling of $ω$ meson in the framework of the relativistic mean-field theory. It is shown that the experimentally observed alpha-decay energies and half-lives are reproduced well by this Lagrangian model. Further calculations for the heavier elements with Z=117-125 show that these nuclei are superdeformed with a prolate shape in the ground state. A superdeformed shell-closure at Z=118 lends an additional binding and…
Low values of the fusion cross sections and very short half-lives of nuclei with Z$>$120 put obstacles in synthesis of new elements. Different nuclear reactions (fusion of stable and radioactive nuclei, multi-nucleon transfers and neutron capture), which could be used for the production of new isotopes of superheavy (SH) elements, are discussed in the paper. The gap of unknown SH nuclei, located between the isotopes which were produced earlier in the cold and hot fusion reactions, can be filled in fusion reactions of $^{48}$Ca with available lighter isotopes of Pu, Am, and Cm. Cross sections f…
We investigate outer crust compositions for a wide range of magnetic field strengths, up to $B\simeq 4\times10^{18}$ G, employing the latest experimental nuclear masses supplemented with various mass models. The essential effects of the magnetic field are twoholds: 1) Enhancement of electron fraction, which is connected to that of protons via the charge neutrality condition, due to the Landau-Rabi quantization of electron motion perpendicular to the field, namely, neutron-richness is suppressed for a given pressure. As a result, 2) nuclei can exist at higher pressures without dripping out neut…
