Science of heavy and superheavy elements (nuclear physics); Experimental studies on shell structure of superheavy nuclei

Asai, Masato  

Stability and limit of existence essentially depend on nuclear shell structure. It is theoretically predicted that stable doubly-closed-shell spherical superheavy nuclei should exist around the region of the proton number 114 to 126 and the neutron number 172 to 184, although their locations and degree of stability have not been established because of large variety of theoretical predictions. On the other hand, recent advances on experimental techniques have made it possible to accumulate experimental data concerning the shell structure of superheavy nuclei, such as half-lives and nuclear masses. In addition, some pioneering experiments have been performed to directly establish the level structure of superheavy nuclei through spectroscopic methods. This paper introduces the current status of experimental studies on nuclear shell structure of superheavy nuclei.