Abstract
THE recent report of discovery of superheavy elements1 (with nuclear charges near the predicted values for shell closure, Z= 114 and Z = 126), in surprisingly large quantities in terrestrial material, raises the question of the astrophysical sources for such nuclei. The very lightest nuclei may have been created in the first hours of the big bang, but significant amounts of elements beyond helium could not have been formed in these conditions. The heavier elements must have been formed in stars, and those as massive as uranium were probably formed by intense neutron bombardment immediately before or accompanying supernova explosions2. It seems unlikely, however, that superheavy nuclei could have been formed in this way, since attempts to reach the ‘stability islands’ by successive neutron captures must proceed by nuclei with very short lifetimes. This would almost Certainly be the case for the island about Z = 126, if not for that at Z= 114. I would suggest that neutron stars might be a source for such superheavy nuclei.
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MURPHY, G. Do superheavies come from neutron stars?. Nature 263, 114–115 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1038/263114b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/263114b0
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