Have Superheavy Elements been Produced in Nature?

TL;DR

This paper investigates the potential natural production of superheavy elements through astrophysical r-process calculations, exploring their formation and decay in neutron-rich environments.

Contribution

It presents the first detailed dynamical network r-process calculations including multiple nuclear models and fission channels to assess superheavy element formation in nature.

Findings

Superheavy nuclei with A ~ 300 can be produced in astrophysical environments.

These nuclei decay within days, limiting their natural detectability.

The results depend on nuclear mass models and fission barriers used.

Abstract

We discuss the possibility whether superheavy elements can be produced in Nature by the astrophysical rapid neutron capture process. To this end we have performed fully dynamical network r-process calculations assuming an environment with neutron-to-seed ratio large enough to produce superheavy nuclei. Our calculations include two sets of nuclear masses and fission barriers and include all possible fission channels and the associated fission yield distributions. Our calculations produce superheavy nuclei with A ~ 300 that however decay on timescales of days.