The search for alternative reaction paths for heavy element production requires a careful experimental investigation of mechanisms other than fusion, e.g., multi-nucleon transfer or very asymmetric fission of even heavier transient systems. Many super heavy elements are expected to decay by alpha particle emission. The heaviest elements are characterized by unusually high alpha particle energies which distinguish them (in general) from the lighter elements. Using 197Au projectiles incident on a 232Th target, we  are pursuing survey experiments based upon the implantation of recoiling heavy reaction products in a catcher foil and the detection of alpha particle decays characteristic of these heavy nuclei. The 7.5 MeV/nucleon 197Au beam was pulsed at different intervals in order to be able to identify species of different half-life. A large number of interesting high alpha-energy activities were detected `both in-beam and out of beam. These data will be discussed as will extensions of this program using an active catcher system consisting of a high granularity array of scintillators read by photomultiplier tubes that will allow us to correlate a detected alpha decay with an implantation position and observe multiple decays from the same recoil implantation site.

Search for high energy alpha particles in the reactions of 7.5AMeV <sup>197</sup>Au with <sup>232</sup>Th

247th National Meeting (2014)

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Search for high energy alpha particles in the reactions of 7.5AMeV 197Au with 232Th

Search for high energy alpha particles in the reactions of 7.5AMeV ¹⁹⁷Au with ²³²Th