2015/11/18 by Y. K. Gambhir, A. Bhagwat, Meenakshi Gupta · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Nuclear physics research studies #Astronomical and nuclear sciences #Atomic and Molecular Physics #Physics #Limiting #Nuclear binding energy #Limit (mathematics) #Nucleon #Fission #Atomic physics #Periodic table #Nuclear physics #Atomic number #Ground state #Quantum mechanics #Neutron
paper · doi:10.1088/0954-3899/42/12/125105
openalex publication_date 2015/11/18 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
The problem of finding the highest limiting Z in the extended periodic table is discussed. The upper limit suggested by the atomic many body theory at Z = 172 may be reached much earlier due to nuclear instabilities. Therefore, an extensive set of calculations based on the relativistic mean field formulation are carried out for the ground state properties of nuclei with Z = 100 to 180 and N / Z ratio ranging from 1.19 to 2.70. This choice of Z and N extends far beyond the corresponding values of all the known heavy to superheavy elements. To facilitate the analysis of the huge quantity of calculated results, various filters depending upon the pairing energies, one and two nucleon separation energies, binding energy per particle ( BE / A ) and α -decay plus fission half lives, are introduced. The limiting value of Z is found to be 146. For the specific filter with 5.5 MeV a few nuclei with Z = 180 also appear. No evidence for the limiting Z value 172 is found. We stress the need to bridge the atomic and nuclear findings and to arrive at an acceptable limiting value of highest Z (or rather combination of Z and N ) of the extended periodic table.