Nuclear Physics Seminar: One atom at a time -- Recent achievements in Superheavy Element Research
Speaker: Julia Even, TRIUMF
Location: Auditorium
Time: 15:30
The elements with a proton number higher than Z=103 are called SuperHeavy Elements (SHE). These elements only exists due to nuclear shell effects and can only be produced in fusion-evaporation reactions. So far, the discovery of the elements up to proton number Z=118 has been reported in literature. Due to the low production rates between a few atoms per hour and a single atom within several month, the studies of SHEs are challenging and the number of experimental data on their nuclear and chemical properties is limited. In the seminar I will introduce experimental techniques which are applied to investigate the nuclear and chemical properties of the SHEs. Furthermore, I will present some of the latest research highlights from nuclear studies of the SHEs at the gas-filled separator TASCA at GSI, Darmstadt, Germany. In the second part of my talk, I will focus on the first synthesis of a carbonyl complex of a SHE - namely seaborgium hexacarbonyl (Sg(CO)6). This experiment was performed at the GARIS separator at RIKEN, Wakoshi, Japan. Sg(CO)6 marks a milestone in SHE chemistry research. For the first time a bond between carbon and a SHE was investigated.