Superheavy element chemistry at GARIS

Abstract

A gas-jet transport system has been installed to the RIKEN GAs-filled Recoil Ion Separator, GARIS to start up SuperHeavy Element (SHE) chemistry. This system is a promising approach for exploring new frontiers in SHE chemistry: background radioactivities from unwanted byproducts are suppressed, a high gas-jet transport yield is achieved, and new chemical reactions can be investigated. Useful radioisotopes of 261Rfa, b, 262Db, and 265Sga, b for chemical studies were produced in the reactions of 248Cm(18O,5n)261Rfa, b, 248Cm(19F,5n)262Db, and 248Cm(22Ne,5n)265Sga,b, respectively. They were successfully extracted to a chemistry laboratory by the gas-jet method. Production and decay properties of 261Rfa, b, 262Db, and 265Sga,b were investigated in detail with the rotating wheel apparatus for α- and spontaneous fission spectrometry. Present status and perspectives of the SHE chemistry at GARIS are also briefly presented.