Superheavy matter, strange matter, antimatter and the structure of the vacuum

The extension of the periodic system into various new areas is investigated. Experiments for the synthesis of superheavy elements and the predictions of magic numbers are reviewed. Further on, investigations on hypernuclei and the possible production of antimatter clusters in heavy-ion collisions are reported. Various versions of the meson field theory serve as effective field theories at the basis of modern nuclear structure and suggest structure in the vacuum which might be important for the production of hyper- and antimatter.