Nuclear structure of elements with 100 ≤ Z ≤ 109 from alpha spectroscopy

Significant technical progress concerning the availability of intense heavy-ion beams and highly-efficient and sophisticated detection devices has made nuclear-structure investigations possible in the region of superheavy nuclei. Exciting new results have been obtained by applying α spectroscopy as well as α-γ and internal-conversion-electron coincidence spectroscopy. The present review article gives an overview of the experimental techniques and methods with specific attention to the recent developments of digital signal and data processing giving access to half-life ranges of less than a few microseconds. The presentation of the experimental results and the physics discussion will be focused on nuclear structure systematics in even-Z nuclei along the N=151,153,and155 isotonic lines, where most progress has been achieved in the last 10 years.