Possibility of Discovering the Super-Heavy Elements Z=119 and 120

Abstract

We reveal that inclusion of fission barrier, nuclear level densities, neutron and fission decay widths in a better way in the advanced statistical method and dinuclear system model can lead to reproduce well the measured production cross sections of the cold and hot fusion reactions in the range \(Z=102-118\). In addition, we show that the optimal beam energies, where the production cross section reaches its maximum, can also be effectively determined using quasielastic barrier distribution curves. This theoretical approach helps us to verify the cause of low production cross section measured for the super-heavy element (SHE) \(^{278}\)Nh with the reaction \(^{70}\)Zn + \(^{209}\)Bi and null results from the reaction \(^{86}\)Kr+\(^{208}\)Pb used for synthesizing the SHE Z=118. Furthermore, the same has been employed to explore the reason for the failure of many trials in synthesizing the SHEs for \(Z=119\) and 120. ER cross sections at the optimal energies for a few heavy-ion reactions in synthesizing the SHE \(Z=119\) and 120 are seen to be measurable. Thus, the synthesis of the SHEs for \(Z=\)119 and 120 is on the cards.