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Superheavy elements are those elements with a large number of protons in their nucleus. Elements with more than 92 protons are unstable; they decay to lighter nuclei with a characteristic half-life. This means superheavy elements do not occur in large quantities (if at all) naturally on earth, and only exist briefly under highly controlled circumstances.
Advances in superheavy element studies providing insight into the nuclear and atomic structure and the chemical behaviour of these exotic short-lived systems will help push to the limit of the periodic table of elements and revise the concept of the island of stability.
Superheavy nuclei are synthesized in the laboratory through the fusion of lighter nuclei. Here the authors study multinucleon transfer and interactions during the early stages of nuclear fusion in the collision of 40Ca and 208Pb nuclei showing early onset of complexity.
As the International Year of the Periodic Table came to an end in 2019, the authors reflect on the chemistry and physics that drive the periodic table of the elements. This includes aspects of periodic trends, relativistic electronic-structure theory, nuclear-structure theory and the astrophysical origin of the elements.
The dominant emission sources of anthropogenic radionuclides come from either atmospheric nuclear weapons tests or the nuclear industry (i.e., reprocessing plants or reactor accidents). Here, the authors identify a new environmental isotope tracer (\(^{233}\)U/\(^{236}\)U) which can help distinguish emissions from nuclear weapons tests, and can also provide constraints on past weapon designs and fuel sources, for which many details remain classified or lost.
The partonic (quark and gluon) structure of protons and neutrons is modified in heavy nuclei. This Review surveys how studies of photon-induced interactions reveal the density distribution of partons in nuclei, thereby probing quantum chromodynamics in high-density environments.
The addition of nihonium, moscovium, tennessine and oganesson to the periodic table are a reminder of the achievements in nuclear physics and chemistry. Witold Nazarewicz outlines the future challenges for the field.
By swapping the roles of the target and beam in an experiment that is otherwise impossible to implement, researchers have confirmed the doubly magic nature of the neutron-rich radioactive tin isotope 132Sn.
