Scientists from the Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions at JINR, Vyacheslav Saiko and Alexander Karpov, studied the synthesis of neutron-enriched isotopes along magic number N = 126 by multinucleon transfer reactions with radioactive-ion beams. Physical Review C published the results of the study in June 2024.

Multinucleon transfer (MNT) processes in low-energy deep inelastic (damped) collisions of heavy ions can be employed to produce heavy neutron-enriched nuclei. Recent progress in the development of radioactive-ion beam (RIB) facilities may give additional possibilities for producing nuclei with large neutron excess.

The production cross sections of isotopes from hafnium to osmium (Z = 72 – 76) with the neutron number N = 126

Using a multidimensional dynamical model of nucleus-nucleus collisions based on the Langevin equations [A.V. Karpov and V.V. Saiko, Phys. Rev. C 96, 024618 (2017)], scientists calculated the cross sections of heavy neutron-enriched nuclides obtained in the MNT reactions ¹³²Sn + ¹⁹⁸Pt and ^136,138,140Xe + ¹⁹⁸Pt. This model provides detailed and accurate description of available experimental data. Relative production rates of these nuclei were estimated using beam intensities available at the active RIB facilities.

FLNR JINR specialists demonstrated that using neutron-rich radioactive projectiles in multinucleon transfer reactions with the ¹⁹⁸Pt target, it is possible to achieve an order of magnitude higher cross sections of neutron-enriched nuclides with the magic number N = 126. Relative production yields of such nuclei increase with the rising N/Z ratio of the projectile.