Eur. Phys. J. A 15, 201-204 (2002)
DOI: 10.1140/epja/i2001-10254-4

Synthesis of superheavy nuclei in the reactions of and with

Yu.Ts. Oganessian¹, V.K. Utyonkov¹, Yu.V. Lobanov¹, F.Sh. Abdullin¹, A.N. Polyakov¹, I.V. Shirokovsky¹, Yu.S. Tsyganov¹, G.G. Gulbekian¹, S.L. Bogomolov¹, B.N. Gikal¹, A.N. Mezentsev¹, S. Iliev¹, V.G. Subbotin¹, A.M. Sukhov¹, O.V. Ivanov¹, G.V. Buklanov¹, K. Subotic¹, A.A. Voinov¹, M.G. Itkis¹, K.J. Moody², J.F. Wild², N.J. Stoyer², M.A. Stoyer², R.W. Lougheed² and C.A. Laue<sup>2

1</sup>  Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 141980 Dubna, Russian Federation
²  University of California, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94551, USA

utyonkov@sungns.jinr.ru

(Received: 21 March 2002 / Published online: 31 October 2002)

Abstract
This paper presents results of the experiments aimed at producing long-lived superheavy elements located near the spherical-shell closures with and in the  +  and  +  reactions. The large measured -particle energies of the newly observed nuclei, together with the long decay times and spontaneous fission terminating the chains, offer evidence of the decay of nuclei with high atomic numbers. The decay properties of the synthesized nuclei are consistent with the consecutive -decays originating from the parent nuclides ^288,289114 and ²⁹²116, produced in the 3n and 4n evaporation channels with cross-sections of about a picobarn. The present observations can be considered as experimental evidence of the existence of the "island of stability" of superheavy elements.

PACS
23.60.+e - Alpha decay.
25.70.-z - Low and intermediate energy heavy-ion reactions.
27.90.+b - .

© Società Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag 2002