International research collaboration at GSI including
researchers of Mainz University uses element 115 to highlight a way for taking
new superheavy elements' fingerprints
An international team of researchers presents fresh evidence
that confirms the existence of the superheavy chemical element 115. The
experiment was conducted at the GSI Helmholtz Center for Heavy Ion Research, an
accelerator laboratory located in Darmstadt. Under the lead of physicists from
Lund University in Sweden, the group, which included researchers from Johannes
Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and the Helmholtz Institute Mainz (HIM), was
able to present a way to directly identify new superheavy elements. Elements
beyond atomic number 104 are referred to as superheavy elements. They are
produced at accelerator laboratories and generally decay after a short time.
Initial reports about the discovery of an element with atomic number 115 were
released from a research center in Russia in 2004. The then presented indirect
evidence for the new element, however, was insufficient for an official
discovery.