Jutta Steiner

Superheavy Element Flerovium (Element 114) Is a Volatile Metal

The electron shell structure of superheavy elements, i.e., elements with atomic number Z ≥ 104, is influenced by strong relativistic effects caused by the high Z. Early atomic calculations on element 112 (copernicium, Cn) and element 114 (flerovium, Fl) having closed and quasi-closed electron shell configurations of 6d(10)7s(2) and 6d(10)7s(2)7p1/2(2), respectively, predicted them to be noble-gas-like due to very strong relativistic effects on the 7s and 7p1/2 valence orbitals. Recent fully relativistic calculations studying Cn and Fl in different environments suggest them to be less reactive compared to their lighter homologues in the groups, but still exhibiting a metallic character. Experimental gas-solid chromatography studies on Cn have, indeed, revealed a metal-metal bond formation with Au. In contrast to this, for Fl, the formation of a weak bond upon physisorption on a Au surface was inferred from first experiments. Here, we report on a gas-solid chromatography study of the adsorption of Fl on a Au surface. Fl was produced in the nuclear fusion reaction (244)Pu((48)Ca, 3-4n)(288,289)Fl and was isolated in-flight from the primary (48)Ca beam in a physical recoil separator. The adsorption behavior of Fl, its nuclear α-decay product Cn, their lighter homologues in groups 14 and 12, i.e., Pb and Hg, and the noble gas Rn were studied simultaneously by isothermal gas chromatography and thermochromatography. Two Fl atoms were detected. They adsorbed on a Au surface at room temperature in the first, isothermal part, but not as readily as Pb and Hg. The observed adsorption behavior of Fl points to a higher inertness compared to its nearest homologue in the group, Pb. However, the measured lower limit for the adsorption enthalpy of Fl on a Au surface points to the formation of a metal-metal bond of Fl with Au. Fl is the least reactive element in the group, but still a metal.

Synthesis and detection of a seaborgium carbonyl complex

A carbonyl compound that tips the scales Life is short for the heaviest elements. They emerge from high-energy nuclear collisions with scant time for detection before they break up into lighter atoms. Even et al. report that even a few seconds is long enough for carbon to bond to the 106th element, seaborgium (see the Perspective by Loveland). The authors used a custom apparatus to direct the freshly made atoms out of the hot collision environment and through a stream of carbon monoxide and helium. They compared the detected products with theoretical modeling results and conclude that hexacarbonyl Sg(CO)6 was the most likely structural formula. Science, this issue p. 1491; see also p. 1451 A special apparatus enables synthesis of a compound with carbon bonds to a short-lived element produced via nuclear reaction. [Also see Perspective by Loveland] Experimental investigations of transactinoide elements provide benchmark results for chemical theory and probe the predictive power of trends in the periodic table. So far, in gas-phase chemical reactions, simple inorganic compounds with the transactinoide in its highest oxidation state have been synthesized. Single-atom production rates, short half-lives, and harsh experimental conditions limited the number of experimentally accessible compounds. We applied a gas-phase carbonylation technique previously tested on short-lived molybdenum (Mo) and tungsten (W) isotopes to the preparation of a carbonyl complex of seaborgium, the 106th element. The volatile seaborgium complex showed the same volatility and reactivity with a silicon dioxide surface as those of the hexacarbonyl complexes of the lighter homologs Mo and W. Comparison of the product’s adsorption enthalpy with theoretical predictions and data for the lighter congeners supported a Sg(CO)6 formulation.

New Short-Lived Isotope 221U and the Mass Surface Near N=126

Two short-lived isotopes ^{221}U and ^{222}U were produced as evaporation residues in the fusion reaction ^{50}Ti+^{176}Yb at the gas-filled recoil separator TASCA. An α decay with an energy of E_{α}=9.31(5)  MeV and half-life T_{1/2}=4.7(7)  μs was attributed to ^{222}U. The new isotope ^{221}U was identified in α-decay chains starting with E_{α}=9.71(5)  MeV and T_{1/2}=0.66(14)  μs leading to known daughters. Synthesis and detection of these unstable heavy nuclei and their descendants were achieved thanks to a fast data readout system. The evolution of the N=126 shell closure and its influence on the stability of uranium isotopes are discussed within the framework of α-decay reduced width.

Improvement of the target durability for heavy-element production

Abstract The search for new elements with reaction cross-sections in the picobarn-region makes it necessary to enhance the beam intensity on the target in order to reduce the required beam time to a reasonable length. To synthesise heavy elements with the SHIP set-up, one mostly uses the heaviest stable elements available as target material, e.g. lead and bismuth. At the moment, the intensity that could be brought on the targets is limited by the low melting temperatures of Pb with 327.5°C and Bi with 271.3°C. To enhance the lifetime of the targets, we work on three different approaches: reduction of the thermal stress, increase in the melting temperature, and active cooling. We report on the first results, plans and future perspectives.

Decomposition studies of group 6 hexacarbonyl complexes. Part 1: Production and decomposition of Mo(CO)6 and W(CO)6

Abstract Chemical studies of superheavy elements require fast and efficient techniques, due to short half-lives and low production rates of the investigated nuclides. Here, we advocate for using a tubular flow reactor for assessing the thermal stability of the Sg carbonyl complex – Sg(CO)6. The experimental setup was tested with Mo and W carbonyl complexes, as their properties are established and supported by theoretical predictions. The suggested approach proved to be effective in discriminating between the thermal stabilities of Mo(CO)6 and W(CO)6. Therefore, an experimental verification of the predicted Sg–CO bond dissociation energy seems to be feasible by applying this technique. By investigating the effect of 104,105Mo beta-decay on the formation of 104,105Tc carbonyl complex, we estimated the lower reaction time limit for the metal carbonyl synthesis in the gas phase to be more than 100 ms. We examined further the influence of the wall material of the recoil chamber, the carrier gas composition, the gas flow rate, and the pressure on the production yield of 104Mo(CO)6, so that the future stability tests with Sg(CO)6 can be optimized accordingly.

Reduction of isotopically enriched 50Ti-dioxide for the production of high-intensity heavy-ion beam

Titanium-50 (50Ti) is an important and often requested ion beam for nuclear physics’ experiments. While natural titanium of very high purity is available in different forms; enriched material can only be bought as the dioxide or the tetrachloride. These compounds cannot be processed from currently available ion sources with a sufficient beam quality and sufficient beam intensity for a long time. We describe here the process of converting titanium dioxide into the metal, the material analysis of the starting material as well as of the reduced material. Despite varying contamination levels of silicon, chlorine, and tin in the primary materials, we obtained high yields of metallic titanium with different contamination levels. The obtained metallic 50Ti was applied at the accelerator UNILAC for the production of a high intensity ion beam for several month of beam time.

Investigation of different C-backings for targets

For a special application, carbon-backings with a very flat surface, microscopically as well as macroscopically, were needed as backings for targets of enriched isotopes. However, betaine-sucrose routinely applied at GSI as parting agent for carbon deposition results in a microscopically rough surface which was not perfectly satisfying the experimental requirements. For these targets we investigated the carbon-backing quality in relation to the applied different parting agents and different deposition processes. In this paper we report on the yield, on the structure of the carbon layers and the deposited target layer of 208PbS, 206PbS, and 142NdF3 depending on the parting agent, the thickness and the deposition methods. We report on elastic scattering experiments with a 48Ti-beam demonstrating the influence of the structure of the carbon backing on the experimental results.

Coating of diamonds for detector application

We report on the development of processes for pretreatment, coating, and tempering of structured layers on diamond surfaces for detector applications. The different steps were developed and processed in close collaboration with the GSI detector laboratory and with feedback from the experiment. Beginning with thermal evaporation and electron beam evaporation we currently use magnetron sputtering as standard coating technique for diamonds in a system especially equipped for this purpose. The layers of choice are mostly chromium–gold or titanium–platinum–gold; sometimes also single layers of aluminum, copper or palladium. The application of the coated diamonds in a detector for the HADES-experiment is described.

Identification of Reaction Products in 50Ti+249Cf Reactions at TASCA

The neutron-rich nuclei 33P and 33S in the upper sd-shell were investigated by means of the 26Mg(13C,npa) and 26Mg(13C,2na) fusion-evaporation reactions. Excited states with intermediate and high spins have been populated. The level schemes of both nuclei have been considerably extended. Utilizing the gammagamma-angular correlation method the spin-parity assignment of the new excited states in 33P has been investigated. The experimentally determined energy levels as well as the known reduced transition probabilities (i.e. B(M1) and B(E2) values) from both nuclei were compared to 0hbaromega and 1hbaromega truncated p-sd-pf shell-model calculations using the PSDPF interaction. For the energy levels a very good agreement between experiment and theory was shown for both 33P and 33S. However, for B(M1) and B(E2) values the calculated values cannot reproduce the experimental results with satisfying agreement for all transitions. In some places the discrepancy between experiment and theory is even large, which requires further experimental as well as theoretical investigation of this thesis for these nuclei. The second part was focused on the upgrade and commissioning tests of the Lund- York-Cologne CAlorimeter (LYCCA). As a key device of the High resolution In-flight SPECtroscopy (HISPEC) campaign of the FAIR/NUSTAR collaboration, LYCCA was designed to identify the reaction products after the secondary target, as well as to track the particle trajectory event by event. After the successful employment of the precursor LYCCA-0 in the PreSPEC campaign, the electronic as well as mechanic components of the LYCCA system were upgraded by STFC Daresbury Laboratory. Using the high integrated AIDA Front-End electronics with ASICs the signals from more than thousand DSSSD-channels were pre-amplified and processed. Since 2016, the new LYCCA setup is located at the Cologne tandem accelerator. Triple-Alpha tests and in-beam experiments of elastic scattering were carried out to check the specifications of the system after the upgrade. The obtained results allow first important conclusions about energy resolution and efficiency of the calorimeter at low energies for future NUSTAR experiments.Di Nitto, A.; Khuyagbaatar, J.; Ackermann, D.; Adamczewski-Musch, J.; Andersson, LiseLotte; Badura, E.; Block, M; Brand, H.; Cox, D. M.; Düllmann, Ch. E.; Dvorak, J.; Eberhardt, K.; Ellison, P. A.; Esker, N. E.; Even, J.; Fahlander, Claes; Forsberg, Ulrika; Gates, J.M.; Golubev, Pavel; Gothe, O.; Gregorich, K.E.; Hartmann, W.; Herzberg, R.-D.; Heßberger, F. P.; Hoffmann, J.; Hollinger, R.; Hübner, A.; Jäger, E.; Jeppsson, J.; Kindler, B.; Klein, S.; Kojouharov, I.; Kratz, J.V.; Krier, J.; Kurz, N.; Lahiri, S.; Linev, S.; Lommel, B.; Maiti, M.; Mändl, R.; Merchán, E.; Minami, S.; Mistry, A. K.; Mokry, Ch.; Nitsche, H.; Omtvedt, J. P.; Pang, G.; Pysmenetska, I.; Renisch, D.; Rudolph, Dirk

Online chemical study of Pb, Hg and Tl on SiO

L. Lens, J. Ballof, A. Yakushev, Ch.E. Düllmann, H. Brand, X. Derkx, A. Di Nitto, J. Even, W. Hartmann, F.P. Heßberger A. Hübner, E. Jäger, J. Khuyagbaatar, B. Kindler, J.V. Kratz, J. Krier, N. Kurz, B. Lommel, C. Mokry, J. Runke, P. Scharrer, B. Schausten, J. Steiner, P. Thörle-Pospiech, M. Wegrzecki, N. Wiehl, V. Yakusheva Univ. Mainz, Germany; GSI, Darmstadt, Germany; Helmholtz Institut Mainz, Germany; ITE, Warsaw, Poland