PRODUCTION AND DECAY OF SUPERHEAVY NUCLEI

An overview of present experimental investigation of superheavy elements is given. Using cold fusion reactions which are based on lead and bismuth targets, relatively neutron-deficient isotopes of the elements from 107 to 113 were synthesized at GSI in Darmstadt, Germany, and/or at RIKEN in Wako, Japan. In hot fusion reactions of ⁴⁸Ca projectiles with actinide targets, more neutron-rich isotopes of the elements from 112 to 116 and even 118 were produced at FLNR in Dubna, Russia. Recently, part of these data, which represent the first identification of nuclei located on the predicted island of superheavy elements, were confirmed in two independent experiments. The data are compared with theoretical descriptions.