Reactions for Superheavy Element SearchesA. Sait Umar Abstract: The search for new elements is one of the most novel and challenging research areas of physics. The discovery of a region of the nuclear chart that can sustain the so called superheavy elements (SHE) has lead to intense experimental activity resulting in the discovery of elements with atomic numbers as large as Z=118. The theoretically predicted island of stability is the result of new proton and neutron shell-closures, whose location is not precisely known. In this talk we discuss the utilization of the time-dependent Hartree-Fock (TDHF) method to study various aspects of the reactions utilized in searches for superheavy elements. These include capture cross-sections, quasifission, prediction of PCN, and other interesting dynamical quantities. We show that the microscopic TDHF approach provides an important tool to shed light on the nuclear dynamics leading to the formation of superheavy elements. |