https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/i2017-12307-5
Regular Article - Experimental Physics
Some critical remarks on a sequence of events interpreted to possibly originate from a decay chain of an element 120 isotope
1
GSI - Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH, 64291, Darmstadt, Germany
2
Helmholtz-Institut Mainz, 55099, Mainz, Germany
3
GANIL, 14076, Caen Cedex 5, France
* e-mail: F.P.Hessberger@gsi.de
Received:
15
July
2016
Accepted:
2
May
2017
Published online:
14
June
2017
A sequence of three events observed in an irradiation of 248Cm with 54Cr at the velocity filter SHIP of the GSI - Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH, 64291 Darmstadt, Germany, had been interpreted as a decay chain consisting of three particles. On the basis of measured energies, a possible assignment to the decay of an isotope of element 120 was discussed, although it was stated that a definite assignment could not be made. A critical analysis of the data, however, shows that the reported events do not have the properties of a decay chain consisting of three
particles and (probably being terminated by) a spontaneous fission event, but that this is rather a random sequence of events.
© SIF, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, 2017