Fusion and fission of heavy and superheavy nuclei (experiment)

The scope of this review is to summarize the main advancements in the search of signatures of the compound nucleus fission and quasifission processes in heavy and superheavy systems. The understanding of fusion and fission in heavy and superheavy elements is needed for tracing paths aimed at reaching the island of stability situated near Z = 114-122 and N = 184. With increasing charge of the interacting nuclei other processes, like quasifission, emerge and compete against fusion. Hence also their study must be pursued. After a brief look at the experimental techniques, the behavior of several observables is extracted from the most recent data to aid in the disentanglement of the various competing processes which hinder the production of superheavy elements. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.