Cold fusion of heavy ions paving the way to superheavy elements

Significant progress has been made approaching superheavy elements. A shell-stabilized region near hassium has been discovered. Element 112 has been synthesized. Recently evidence for the creation of elements 114, 116, and 118 has been reported. The way to these superheavy nuclei was paved by the cold fusion of heavy ions. In this paper experimental methods for heavy-element research, which is essentially physics with single atoms, are presented together with recent experimental results. The observed nuclear properties are discussed in the framework of theoretical models. New instrumental developments including accelerators and radioactive beams are be addressed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.