Calculation of evaporation residue cross sections for the synthesis of superheavy nuclei in hot fusion reactions

A systematic calculation of the production cross sections of superheavy elements (SHEs) in hot fusion reactions is performed. First, we analyze the reactions of Ca-48 + U-238, Pu-244, and Cm-248, from which the parameter values in the model for each process are determined by comparing the calculated capture, fusion, and evaporation residue (ER) cross sections, respectively, with the measured data. Then, we calculate the ER cross sections of other hot fusion reactions with the derived parameter values. The calculated results are in good agreement with the available data. Furthermore, the possible isotope production cross sections of elements 118 and 117 in the reactions of Ca-48 + Cf-A and Bk-A are computed. We find that with the increase of the neutron number of the target, the production cross sections of the SHEs increase, primarily caused by the smaller neutron separation energies of the corresponding neutron-rich compound nucleus (CN). Finally, the production cross sections of elements 120 and 119 are evaluated in fusion evaporation reactions with Ti-50 as a projectile. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.