Evidence against Superheavy Elements in Giant-Halo Inclusions Re-examined with Synchrotron Radiation

Abstract

The giant-halo inclusion $19D$ reported to show the strongest evidence for superheavy elements on the basis of proton-induced x-ray fluorescence has been re-examined with \ensuremath{\approx} 55 times greater sensitivity by employing synchrotron radiation as the exciting source. It is shown conclusively that at concentration levels of \ensuremath{\approx} 5 \ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{} ${10}^{8}$ atoms per inclusion, superheavy elements are not present in $\mathrm{GH}19D$ or in numerous other giant-halo inclusions studied.