Nuclear spectroscopy in nuclei with Z ≥ 110

The nuclear structure of species at the extreme of highest atomic numbers Z and nuclear masses A promises to reveal intriguing new features of this exotic hadronic matter. Their stability itself they owe to quantum-mechanic effects only. They form metastable states which, governed by the subtle interplay of α decay and spontaneous fission versus quantum-mechanic stabilization via shell effects, are in some cases more robust against disintegration than their ground states. Following the isotopic and isotonic trends of single particle levels, as well as collective features like deformation, may reveal the path towards the gap in the level densities, expected for the next closed proton and neutron shells at the so-called “island of stability” of spherical superheavy nuclei. Their atomic configuration offers via X-ray spectroscopy a tool to identify the atomic number of heavy species, where other more traditional methods like evaporation residue (ER)-α correlation are not applicable.