New neutron-rich isotope production in 154Sm+160Gd

Deep inelastic scattering in 154Sm+160Gd at energies above the Bass barrier is for the first time investigated with two different microscopic dynamics approaches: improved quantum molecular dynamics (ImQMD) model and time dependent Hartree–Fock (TDHF) theory. No fusion is observed from both models. The capture pocket disappears for this reaction due to strong Coulomb repulsion and the contact time of the di-nuclear system formed in head-on collisions is about 700 fm/c at an incident energy of 440 MeV. The isotope distribution of fragments in the deep inelastic scattering process is predicted with the simulations of the latest ImQMD-v2.2 model together with a statistical code (GEMINI) for describing the secondary decay of fragments. More than 40 extremely neutron-rich unmeasured nuclei with 58≤Z≤7658≤Z≤76 are observed and the production cross sections are at the order of μbμb to mb. The multi-nucleon transfer reaction of Sm+Gd could be an alternative way to synthesize new neutron-rich lanthanides which are difficult to be produced with traditional fusion reactions or fission of actinides.