DISCOVERIES WITH COLD HEAVY-ION FUSION AND SHELL STABILISED NUCLEI AROUND HASSIUM

Cold fusion, using reactions with the doubly magic nucleus Pb-208 and its neighbor Bi-209, have lead to the discovery of the shell stabilized nuclei around (270)Hs paving the way to the artificial synthesis of superheavy nuclei. In this paper we present a brief history of the discoveries and their importance to the production and investigation of superheavy elements.