Superheavy nuclei from 48Ca-induced reactions

The discovery and investigation of the new region of superheavy nuclei at the DGFRS separator based on fusion reactions of 48Ca with 238U-249Cf target nuclei are reviewed. The production cross sections and summaries of the decay properties, including the results of the posterior experiments performed at the SHIP, BGS, and TASCA separators, as well as at the chemistry setups, are discussed and compared with the theoretical calculations and the systematic trends in the α-decay and spontaneous fission properties. The properties of the new nuclei, isotopes of elements 112-118, and their decay products demonstrate significant increases in the stability of the heaviest nuclei with increasing neutron number and closer approach to magic number N=184.