Several experiments worldwide have attempted to discover the currently unknown elements 119 and 120. Although the experimenters have a deep understanding of the problem and have very sensitive equipment, no widely accepted reports of decay chains attributable to these elements have been published. These reactions utilized projectiles heavier than 48Ca bombarding targets of actinide elements with the goal of creating fusion-evaporation products. The lack of success in these experiments has stimulated interest in the influence of the projectile on fusion-evaporation reactions. In the current research, projectiles of 44,48Ca, 45Sc, 50Ti, and 54Cr bombarded lanthanide targets, and a large number of xn and pxn excitations functions were measured using the MARS spectrometer at Texas A&M University. The projectile and target were systematically varied, and the resulting cross sections were compared against model calculations. The data suggest that the properties of the compound nucleus play a dominant role in the fusion-evaporation cross section. This talk will discuss the experiments, the theoretical model, and the implications for the formation of new superheavy elements.

Influence of Z and N on the synthesis of heavy elements in fusion-evaporation reactions

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

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