Experiments on the synthesis of superheavy nuclei 284Fl and 285Fl in the 239,240Pu+48Ca reactions.

Irradiations of 239Pu and 240Pu targets with 48Ca beams aimed at the synthesis of Z=114 flerovium isotopes were performed at the Dubna Gas Filled Recoil Separator. A new spontaneously fissioning (SF) isotope 284Fl was produced for the first time in the 240Pu+48Ca (250 MeV) and 239Pu+48Ca (245 MeV) reactions. The cross section of the 239Pu(48Ca,3n)284Fl reaction channel was about 20 times lower than predicted by theoretical models and about 50 times lower than the maximum fusion-evaporation cross section for the 3n and 4n channels measured in the 244Pu+48Ca reaction. In the 240Pu+48Ca experiment, performed at 245 MeV in order to maximize the 3n-evaporation channel, three decay chains of 285Fl were detected. The α-decay energy of 285Fl was measured for the first time and decay properties of its descendants 281Cn, 277Ds, 273Hs, 269Sg, and 265Rf were determined with higher accuracy. The assignment of SF events observed during the irradiation of the 240Pu target with a 250 MeV 48Ca beam to 284Fl decay is presented and discussed. The cross sections at both 48Ca energies are similar and exceed that observed in the reaction with the lighter isotope 239Pu by a factor of 10. The decay properties of the synthesized nuclei and their production cross sections indicate a rapid decrease of stability of superheavy nuclei as the neutron number decreases from the predicted magic neutron number N=184. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]