Multi-nucleon transfer reactions for production and study of heavy neutron rich nuclei

The present limits of the upper part of the nuclear map are very close to stability while the unexplored area of heavy neutron-rich nuclides along the neutron closed shell N = 126 is extremely important for nuclear astrophysics investigations and, in particular, for the understanding of the r-process of astrophysical nucleosynthesis. A new way was recently proposed for the production of these nuclei via low-energy multi-nucleon transfer reactions. The estimated yields of neutron-rich nuclei are found to be rather high in such reactions and several tens of new nuclides can be produced, for example, in the near-barrier collision of 136Xe with 208Pb. A new setup is proposed to produce and investigate heavy neutron-rich nuclei located along the neutron closed shell N=126.