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A nuclear spectroscopy experiment was conducted to study α-decay chains stemming from isotopes of flerovium (element Z=114). An upgraded TASISpec decay station was placed behind the gas-filled separator TASCA at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum fur Schwerionenforschung in Darmstadt, Germany. The fusion-evaporation reactions ^{48}Ca+^{242}Pu and ^{48}Ca+^{244}Pu provided a total of 32 flerovium-candidate decay chains, of which two and eleven were firmly assigned to ^{286}Fl and ^{288}Fl, respectively. A prompt coincidence between a 9.60(1)-MeV α particle event and a 0.36(1)-MeV conversion electron marked the first observation of an excited state in an even-even isotope of the heaviest man-made elements, namely ^{282}Cn. Spectroscopy of ^{288}Fl decay chains fixed Q_{α}=10.06(1) MeV. In one case, a Q_{α}=9.46(1)-MeV decay from ^{284}Cn into ^{280}Ds was observed, with ^{280}Ds fissioning after only 518 μs. The impact of these findings, aggregated with existing data on decay chains of ^{286,288}Fl, on the size of an anticipated shell gap at proton number Z=114 is discussed in light of predictions from two beyond-mean-field calculations, which take into account triaxial deformation.

Lifetimes of the first excited 2(+) and 4(+) states in the extremely neutron -deficient nuclide Pt-172 have been measured for the first time using the recoil-distance Doppler shift and recoil-decay tagging techniques. An unusually low value of the ratio B(E2: 4(1)(+) -> 2(1)(+)/B(E2: 2(1)(+) -> 0(gs)(+)) = 0.55(19) was found, similar to a handful of other such anomalous cases observed in the entire Segre chart. The observation adds to a cluster of a few extremely neutron -deficient nuclides of the heavy transition metals with neutron numbers N approximate to 90-94 featuring the effect. No theoretical model calculations reported to date have been able to explain the anomalously low B(E2: 4(1)(+) -> 2(1)(+)/B(E2: 2(1)(+) -> 0(gs)(+)) ratios observed in these cases. Such low values cannot, e.g., be explained within the framework of the geometrical collective model or by algebraic approaches within the interacting boson model framework. It is proposed that the group of B(E2: 4(1)(+) -> 2(1)(+)/B(E2: 2(1)(+) -> 0(gs)(+)) ratios in the extremely neutron-deficient even-even W, Os, and Pt nuclei around neutron numbers N approximate to 90-94 reveal a quantum phase transition from a seniority-conserving structure to a collective regime as a function of neutron number. Although a system governed by seniority symmetry is the only theoretical framework for which such an effect may naturally occur, the phenomenon is highly unexpected for these nuclei that are not situated near closed shells.

The superheavy element with atomic number Z=117 was produced as an evaporation residue in the 48Ca+249Bk fusion reaction at the gas-filled recoil separator TASCA at GSI Darmstadt, Germany. The radioactive decay of evaporation residues and their α-decay products was studied using a detection setup that allowed measuring decays of single atomic nuclei with half-lives between sub-μs and a few days. Two decay chains comprising seven α decays and a spontaneous fission each were identified and are assigned to the isotope 294-117 and its decay products. A hitherto unknown α-decay branch in 270Db (Z=105) was observed, which populated the new isotope 266Lr (Z=103). The identification of the long-lived (T1/2=1.0+1.9−0.4 h) α-emitter 270Db marks an important step towards the observation of even more long-lived nuclei of superheavy elements located on an “island of stability.” (Less)

The rotational band structure of the $Z=104$ nucleus $^{256}\mathrm{Rf}$ has been observed up to a tentative spin of $20\ensuremath{\hbar}$ using state-of-the-art $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray spectroscopic techniques. This represents the first such measurement in a superheavy nucleus whose stability is entirely derived from the shell-correction energy. The observed rotational properties are compared to those of neighboring nuclei and it is shown that the kinematic and dynamic moments of inertia are sensitive to the underlying single-particle shell structure and the specific location of high-$j$ orbitals. The moments of inertia therefore provide a sensitive test of shell structure and pairing in superheavy nuclei which is essential to ensure the validity of contemporary nuclear models in this mass region. The data obtained show that there is no deformed shell gap at $Z=104$, which is predicted in a number of current self-consistent mean-field models.

The rotational band structure of Lr-255 has been investigated using advanced in-beam gamma-ray spectroscopic techniques. To date, Lr-255 is the heaviest nucleus to be studied in this manner. One ro ...