Heavy Element Research for Nuclear, Atomic and Astrophysics Studies (EVEREST)

The heaviest elements of Mendeleev's table form an intriguing research laboratory of interest for nuclear, atomic and astro-physics. The heaviest element experimentally produced on earth is Oganesson (118 protons). Such heavy atoms are radioactive and short lived but theory predicts an island of stability when going to even heavier elements. Their atomic structure is influenced by strong relativistic effects making it challenging to predict their atomic and chemical properties. All heavy atoms are made in stars through nucleosynthesis processes. But some of these processes, like the r-process that is responsible for the production of about half of the elements heavier than iron in the Universe, are poorly understood. The essential know-how that is missing, is the way these heavy atoms are constructed from their protons, neutrons and electrons. Therefore, it is imperative to study experimentally the heaviest atoms accessible in the laboratory and for the more exotic inaccessible ones to develop reliable nuclear and atomic models. The aim of this project is to perform precise laser-spectroscopy studies and fission experiments on the heaviest accessible atoms. Models will be improved and validated with the new data. These models will then be used to predict the nuclear structure of the heaviest elements produced in stellar explosions, perform r-process calculations and, combined with observational data, to estimate the age of stars through the Thorium-Uranium cosmochronometry.