The Fullerene-like Structure of Superheavy Element Z=120 (Greinerium)-a tribute to Walter Greiner

TL;DR

This paper explores the theoretical possibility of fullerene-like nuclear structures in superheavy element Z=120, combining models from liquid-drop and soliton theories to predict unique metastable states with specific density profiles.

Contribution

It introduces a novel theoretical framework for modeling fullerene-like nuclear shapes in superheavy elements using combined liquid-drop and soliton models.

Findings

Estimates of energy for metastable fullerene-like states in Z=120.

Prediction of density depletion in the central region of the structure.

Demonstration of model consistency with possible nuclear configurations.

Abstract

We review the basic ideas and some theoretical models behind the concept of fullerene-like structures made of $\alpha$-particles. The possibility of such a peculiar nuclear shape developing in a double magic superheavy nucleus with $Z$=120 was mentioned for the first time in the literature by Walter Greiner and then constantly defended by him. We provide estimates of the energy of such metastable states within the liquid-drop model. In the second part of this paper we discuss a simple model rooted in the nontopological soliton model consisting of a complex scalar field describing a finite system of $\alpha$ bosons with non-linear self-interactions coupled to the electromagnetic field. We demonstrate that this model predicts density depletion in the central region of a soliton-like structure for a range of model parameters.