ARTICLE IN PRESS

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A 613 (2010) 371–377

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in

Physics Research A
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/nima

Superheavy elements—Achievements and challenges

Dieter Ackermann 
GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH, Planckstr. 1, D-64291 Darmstadt, Germany

a r t i c l e in fo abstract

Available online 24 October 2009 The search for superheavy elements (SHE) has yielded exciting results for both the ‘‘cold fusion’’
Keywords: approach with reactions employing Pb and Bi targets and the ‘‘hot fusion’’ reactions with 48Ca beams on
Superheavy element actinide targets. The most recent activities at GSI were the successful production of a more neutron rich
Fusion isotope of element 112 in the reaction 48Ca + 238U confirming earlier result from FLNR, and the attempt
Fusion/fission to synthesize an isotope with Z =120 in the reaction 64Ni + 238U. Apart from the synthesis of new
Transactinides elements, advanced nuclear structure studies for heavy and superheavy elements promise a detailed
Nuclear structure insight in the properties of nuclear matter under the extreme conditions of high Z and A. The means are
K-isomers. evaporation residue (ER)  a  a and  a  g coincidence techniques applied after separation of the
reaction products from the beam. Recent examples of interesting physics to be discovered in this region
of the chart of nuclides are the investigation of K-isomers observed for 252,254No and indicated for 270Ds.
Fast chemistry and precision mass measurements deliver in addition valuable information on the
fundamental properties of the SHE. In the process of continuous development and improvement of the
experimental methods, which is mandatory to address the challenges of ever lower cross-sections
asking for ever higher beam intensities, the target technology plays an important role.
& 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction separation with the gas-filled separator TASCA, and precision

Four decades after the first prediction of the ‘‘island of
stability’’ of SHE in the late sixties of the last century [1] its
localization seems almost in reach with experimental indications
up to a Z of 118 [2]. The two approaches cold and hot fusion, have
yielded the synthesis of a large number of isotopes in the region of
highest Z and A, which is illustrated in the extract of the chart of
nuclides shown in Fig. 1. Their decay properties are to some extent
consistent with most model predictions. As an example the results
of a microscopic–macroscopic calculation [3] are shown in terms
of ground-state shell correction energies in the same figure. At GSI
cold fusion reactions have been employed to produce elements up
to Z= 112 [4] whereas the heaviest nucleus for this approach has
been synthesized at RIKEN in the reaction 70Zn+ 209Bi [5]. In 48Ca
induced reactions on actinide target nuclei decay patterns have
been observed at Dubna, which were assigned to the production
of nuclei spanning the more neutron rich area from 266Rf to 294118.
Beyond the successful synthesis of heavy nuclei, the high beam
intensities nowadays available, together with the advanced
particle and g detector set-ups allow for detailed nuclear
structure investigations for heavy and superheavy nuclei like
252,254
No [6,7] and 270Ds [8], which will be discussed in this paper.
In addition fast SHE chemistry, most recently performed after pre-
 Tel.: + 49 6159 711609.
E-mail address: d.ackermann@gsi.de
mass measurements in the penning trap system SHIPTRAP
complete the experimental means available at GSI. All these
investigations call for a constant development of higher beam
intensities due to the low production cross-sections.
2. Synthesis of SHE—present state
The identification of superheavy elements in heavy ion fusion
reactions is based on two major ingredients: the separation of the
fusion products in flight from the beam particles and the
identification of the products via ER-a correlations. The velocity
filter SHIP at GSI provides separation, using the velocity difference
between the faster beam and the slower fusion products in the
fashion of a classical Wien-filter, via the comparison of crossed E-
and B-fields, in a separated field configuration. The particles
passing the velocity filter are then implanted into a position
sensitive silicon strip detector set-up where position, time and
energy of the fusion products and subsequent decays by a
emission and spontaneous fission are recorded. The Z- and A-
identification of the starting point of those decay chains is
unambiguously provided by the connection to known a emitters
at the end of the decay sequence. In Fig. 2 the method is
illustrated for the example of the first decay chain, observed in the
reaction 70Zn+ 208Pb-277112+ 1n in 1996 [4].

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doi:10.1016/j.nima.2009.09.079
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372 D. Ackermann / Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A 613 (2010) 371–377

Fig. 1. Extract of the chart of nuclides with the region of SHE comprising the isotopes produced in cold fusion reactions with the heaviest isotope synthesized at GSI 277112,
and the ones generated at Dubna in hot fusion reactions. The latter were assigned to nuclides ranging from 266Rf to 294118. The framed area denotes the nuclei for which
nuclear structure studies have been performed at SHIP with new or improved results whereas for the hatched area previous results were confirmed. The grey shaded
contour plot shows shell correction energies calculated by a microscopic–macroscopic model [3].

Fig. 2. Scheme of the synthesis of SHE using the velocity filter SHIP and the recoil-a correlation method.

For the reactions employing fusion with 208Pb and 209Bi as
target, no deviation from the exponential decrease of the
maximum cross-section with increasing Z has been observed.
The Dubna results for 48Ca induced reactions on actinide targets,
however, show cross-section values, which surprisingly remain
rather high and constant around and above the 1-pbarn-level for Z
up to 118 [2]. In order to confirm these tempting results with the
promising perspectives of relatively high production yields we
chose as a first reaction 48Ca+ 238U with 286112 as compound
nucleus. The experiment was performed in three parts with a total
of 88 days in the period from 2005 to 2007. Experimental details
are described in Ref. [9] and the results are shown in Fig. 3. In the
first run one first event of the type ER-spontaneous fission (sf) was
observed at an excitation energy of 34.8 MeV. Three more events
could be detected in the third run at an excitation energy of
34.4 MeV. Event number 2 and 4 were of the type ER-a-sf and
event number 3 showed again an ER-sf decay pattern. The
observed decay properties are in good agreement with the data
obtained earlier at the FLNR [10,11]. We obtained a cross-section
þ 0:58 þ 1:8
value of 0:720:35 Pb as compared to the 2:51:1 Pb reported in
Ref. [10]. Apart from the overlapping error bars, this slight
discrepancy can be due to systematic deviations (see discussion
in Ref. [9]). In addition to our confirmation there was a chemical
study of the reaction 48Ca+ 244Pu, which also observed consistent
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D. Ackermann / Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A 613 (2010) 371–377 373

Fig. 3. (a) Decay chains observed at SHIP for the reaction 48Ca+ 238U in the experiments in 2005 and 2007. (b) Comparison of the decay patterns observed at the FLNR and
at GSI (see text and Ref. [9]).

decay patterns [12]. Here the produced compound nucleus is

supposed to decay before reaching the detector due to its short
half-life as compared with the time needed for chemical
separation. The then detected species showed the chemical
behaviour theoretically predicted for element 112.
As a next step we irradiated 238U with 64Ni projectiles, leading
to 302120* as compound nucleus. The online analysis of the
approximately 120 days of irradiation did not yield any hint for a
decay of a superheavy nucleus. We reached in this time a cross-
section limit for the observation of one event of E0.1 pb. The
offline analysis is still ongoing.

3. Nuclear structure studies

The detailed understanding of nuclear structure and its

development in the vicinity of closed shells, in regions of Fig. 4. Scheme of a typical decay spectroscopy set-up for particle, g-ray and X-ray
deformation and towards heavier masses and higher Z is a detection.

necessary ingredient for a successful progress in the synthesis of

new heavy elements. The possible trends in single particle levels
are the most sensitive probe for the formation of low level density,
and eventually the appearance of shell gaps and regions of (shell-)
stabilized nuclei. Decay spectroscopy of a-emitters stopped after
separation is a powerful tool to study their daughter products or
isomeric states via a fine structure or a–g spectroscopy by ER-a or
ER-a-g coincidence measurements. Here the fusion reaction
products are after separation implanted into a solid state (‘‘stop’’)
detector for the residue and a detection, which is combined with a
high resolving g-ray (Ge-) detector. A typical set-up scheme is
shown in Fig. 4 and a review of the field can be found in Ref. [13].
This method is very clean as compared to in-beam studies because
of the effective shielding from target background due to its spatial
separation and the effective cleaning by the ER-a coincidence
technique. It is highly efficient because of the favourable close
geometry of the a and g detectors and the very well localized
stopped g-ray source that the implantation spot of the ER is
forming on the stop detector. The latter has the further advantage
of the absence of any g-ray Doppler shift or broadening, which
yields, with a moderate crystal size and a moderate granularity of
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374 D. Ackermann / Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A 613 (2010) 371–377
the Ge-detector, a nevertheless high efficiency e. In case of the
SHIP set-up we achieve an e of up to E15%. We have applied the
technique of a fine structure and a–(a)–g spectroscopy to study
several radium isotopes (A =209–212) [14], neutron-deficient
nuclei with Z= 86–92 [15] and heavy isotopes up to 252,253Lr,
255
Rf and 256,257Db[16] (see also Fig. 1).
4. Isomer spectroscopy
Detector arrangements after a separator like the one shown in
Fig. 4 are well suited also for the investigation of meta-stable
states which have a half-life long enough to survive the flight time
through the separator. Such isomeric states can be found in many
nuclei for various reasons [17]. In prolate deformed nuclei
isomeric states are formed when their decay requires a large
change in the K value, the projection of the total angular
momentum on the symmetry axis of the nucleus. Transition are
called ‘‘K-forbidden’’ when the change in the K value is larger then
the transition multipole order l with the degree of forbiddenness
defined as n = DK  l [18]. For heavy deformed nuclei in the region
from Z E100 to 110 a number of K-isomers are reported. In recent
investigations we could establish a detailed level scheme for the
decay and intraband structure of the 100 ms isomer in 252No [6].
The isomeric state was studied in the reaction 206Pb(48Ca,2n)252-
No at the velocity filter SHIP. Similarly we could confirm and
improve the isomeric structure of 254No observed earlier by
Herzberg et al. [19] and Tandel [20]. The heaviest nucleus for
which a first indication of an isomeric state has been observed,
including an a–g coincidence, is 270Ds which we investigated
using the reaction 207Pb(64Ni,n)270Ds [8]. With only 8 decay chains
and one 218 keV g-ray in coincidence with an a-particle we could
establish the presence of the two decay times 0.15 and 8.6 ms with
a branching ratio of 50%. This finding was supported by
calculations of Cwiok et al. who predicted spin and parity values
of 8 + , 9  or 10  for the isomeric state in 270Ds [8,21]. Xu et al. [22]
found, on the basis of configuration-constrained potential-energy-
surface (PES) calculations and two-quasineutron and two-quasi-
proton states, that K-isomers are a general feature in the region
from Z = 100 to 116. Using our experimental data they proposed a
level scheme which shows the longer-lived transition as the decay
out of the metastable state and the ground state decay as the
short-lived activity. As a next step we shall accumulate in a future
experiment enough data to probe the proposed decay scheme
with more detailed a fine structure information accompanied by
a–g coincidences in order to shed some light on the origin of
isomerism of the heaviest deformed nuclei.
stopping fusion products
cell from SHIP
extraction-
RFQ
RFQ-cooler
and buncher
Fig. 5. Scheme showing the components of the penning trap set-up SHIPTRAP [25].
5. Technical development, new detection tools and target
technology
The ever lower cross-sections and the progress in heavy and
superheavy element investigations on all frontiers calls for
continuing efforts in improving methodology and equipment. All
available means and methods including nuclear spectroscopy
methods, chemistry, mass determination and precision mass
measurements, and last but not least a constant struggle for
higher beam intensities have to be employed to reach the final
goal to establish the location of the region of shell stabilized
spherical superheavy nuclei and to understand in detail the
physics behind this stabilization. Presently projects like the new
gas-filled separator TASCA, the penning trap set-up for precision
mass measurements SHIPTRAP and the intensity upgrade of the
UNILAC accelerator at GSI are pursued. Increased beam intensities
also call for a substantial development in the field of target
technology. Various achievements have been made in the past to
improve the target resistivity against the increased heat impact.
6. The gas-filled separator TASCA and fast chemistry
The TransActinide Separator and Chemistry Apparatus (TASCA)
is a gas-filled separator which has been constructed and
successfully tested at GSI [23,24]. After the now concluded
commissioning phase wherein many different reactions were
employed, including targets like 238U and 244Pu, it is now ready for
the first experimental campaign. The scientific program at TASCA
will contain the synthesis of new SHE with element Z= 117 as an
important milestone, as well as nuclear structure investigations
using, similarly to the studies performed at SHIP, a, g, X-ray and e–
spectroscopy of neutron-rich SHE performed in the focal plane
and after gas-jet transport. It will also be used for the develop-
ment of novel type chemical investigations of transactinides after
pre-separation.
7. Precision mass measurements with SHIPTRAP
SHIPTRAP is a precision trap set-up mounted at the exit of SHIP
for precision mass measurements of reaction products [25]. A
scheme of the set-up is shown in Fig. 5. The nuclei are first
stopped in a buffer gas stopping cell at approximately 50 mbar gas
pressure. They are extracted from the gas volume, cooled and
bunched by two radio frequency quadrupole (RFQ) structures.
The ion bunches are then injected into a double Penning trap
system, consisting of a purification trap and a high-precision
measurement
trap
purification
trap
detector
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D. Ackermann / Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A 613 (2010) 371–377 375

measurement trap collocated in a 7 T superconducting magnet.
With this set-up a relative mass uncertainty of as low as 10  8 can
be achieved. After the investigation of lighter nuclides, recently
the masses of the isotopes 252,253,254No could be successfully
established for the first time with such a high precision device.
Apart from the also performed investigation of neutron deficient
nuclei with astrophysical importance, also trap-assisted nuclear
structure investigations behind SHITRAP are planned.
was spinning at a rotation velocity of 375 rpm. The beam current
was adjusted such that the same temperature of 323 K (150 1C)
was reached in the beam spot for both cases. For the cooled
sample (helium atmosphere) the heat power deposit by the e 
beam was with 7.9 W/cm2 a factor of 2.4 higher than in the
vacuum case where 3.3 W/cm2 were deposited. In addition the
return temperature of 207 K (35 1C) in helium was 55 K lower than
the 262 K (90 1C) reached for the vacuum case. Increasing the

8. Target technology
material: Pb, Bi, U, rare earth
Beyond the enlargement of the irradiated area using a rotating typical thickness: 400-500 µg/cm2
composition: sandwich C-AZ-C
target wheel, various additional means have been employed to
improve the resistance of the target material against increasing (40-500-10) µg/cm2
beam intensities and to prepare the set-up for future beam
development. The presently used target device is a wheel with development: chemical
eight banana-shaped target frame segments. It turns at a rotation
cooling
speed of about 1000 rotations per minute (rpm) and the diameter
e-beam diagnosis
of the circle irradiated by the beam is 31 cm. The typical target
thickness is 400–500 mg/cm2. Fig. 6 shows a photograph of the
wheel configuration. Typical target material species are isotopes
of Pb, Bi, U and various rare earth elements. For the low melting
point materials, Pb and Bi, foils of chemical compounds with 31 cm
higher melting points have been developed. PbS, with a melting
point of 1403 K as compared to 600.7 K for the metal, proved to be
a robust target material with long possible irradiation times. For
bismuth, Bi2O3, with a melting point of 1093 K as compared to
544.5 K for the metal, was found to be a good alternative.
Cooling of the target material was the subject of an extensive
investigation [26]. Beyond the radiative cooling, using two metal
plates, cooled down to a temperature of E250–255 K, on either
side of the target wheel, additional gas cooling was tested. Fig. 7
shows temperature profiles for the rotating wheel in vacuum (left
panel) and in an atmosphere of 0.6 mbar helium gas (right panel). Fig. 6. Target wheel configuration, with dimensions and typical parameters, as
The target foils were irradiated with an electron beam. The wheel presently used at SHIP.

Fig. 7. Temperature profile for a target wheel equipped with typical sandwich target foils of the composition C–Pb–C and with average thicknesses of 37–460–10 mg/cm2.
The target foils were irradiated by an electron beam in vacuum (left panel) and in 0.6 mbar (right panel). The wheel rotation speed was 375 rpm. The heat power deposit by
the e  beam was 3.3 W/cm2 for the vacuum case and 7.9 W/cm2 for the 0.6 mbar helium atmosphere [26].
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
376 D. Ackermann / Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A 613 (2010) 371–377
collimator deflector
e-gun
reference
grid
ion beam
Fig. 8. Schematic view of the electron beam target control system implemented at SHIP [28].
emissivity (heat conductivity) of the target material, allows for a
higher heat deposit due to faster cooling during the beam off
cycle. In the study presented in Ref. [26] a maximum of 13.1 W/
cm2 was obtained.
Despite the considerable progress already made, there is still
some room for improvement towards higher beam intensities to
be taken by the target material. Some of the possible options are
an increase in wheel rotation velocity, the implementation of a
rectangular beam profile by a double octupole beam line
configuration [27] in order to obtain a homogeneous, rectangular
heat deposit distribution, and cooling of the cooling gas with a
possible additional gain by a higher gas pressure.
To control the target conditions an electron beam diagnostic
system has been developed and put in place at SHIP. The principle
is shown in Fig. 8. An electron beam is sent, after collimation, on
the target wheel where it undergoes angular straggling and to
some extent partly absorption. Both effects are thickness
dependent and limit the number of charges collected in a
Faraday cup with a well-defined entrance aperture, mounted
behind the target. The current signal from the Faraday cup is then
a direct measure of the target thickness. A deflector in front of the
wheel allows for vertical scanning while for the horizontal
screening the target wheel rotation is exploited. A reference grid
mounted before the deflector serves for normalization purposes
and compensation of possible e  beam instabilities. The system
can be used for single control measurements with high spatial
resolution as well as for continuous target thickness survey, using
a time integrated signal.
9. The roadmap towards the island of stability
Low cross-sections, the advances in nuclear structure investi-
gations, reaction mechanism studies, chemistry and SHE synthesis
experiments with a steadily increasing demand for higher beam
intensities, more sensitive and more sophisticated detection set-
ups, an adapted target technology, and new experimental
methods determine the road map for future SHE investigations.
Intensity increase is one of the major issues in this context. The
presently pursued upgrade of the UNILAC accelerator at GSI,
target
wheel
Faraday-cup
consisting of a new 28 GHZ ECR source and a new RFQ injector
providing an order of magnitude higher beam current, is only a
first step towards a dedicated continuous wave (CW) accelerator,
which would increase the beam intensity by a factor of four
already by extending the 25% UNILAC duty cycle to 100%.
Additional increases due to the advanced accelerator technology
can be expected. Improvement of the detection system in terms of
higher efficiencies is as mandatory as the employment of
additional measurement parameters. Mass determination by an
adequate spectrometer, in contrast to precision mass measure-
ments with a trap, would be extremely helpful for a final
confirmation of the unconnected chains obtained in the 48Ca-
induced reactions on actinide targets.
In conclusion, the roadmap towards spherical shell stabilized
nuclei is laid out. The challenges are obvious. It is up to us to take
them on.
Acknowledgments
The recent experiments were performed together with M.
Block, H.-G. Burkhard, C. Droese, M. Dworschak, S. Heinz, F.P.
Heßberger, F. Herfurth, S. Hofmann, W. Hartmann, A. Hübner, B.
Kindler, I. Kojouharov, R. Mann, J. Maurer, B. Lommel, J. Steiner, B.
Sulignano (GSI Darmstadt), A.N. Andreyev, A.G. Popeko, A.V.
Yeremin (FLNR-JINR Dubna), S. Antalic, Š. Šaro, M. Venhart
(University of Bratislava), J. Uusitalo and M. Leino (University of
Jyväskylä), P. Kuusiniemi (University of Oulu).
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