The heaviest nuclei known rely on quantum-mechanical nuclear-shell effects, enhancing stability against spontaneous fission to form superheavy nuclei, specifically around magic numbers.
Nuclei with proton numbers between magic numbers exhibit deformed shapes due to the nuclear Jahn-Teller effect, linked to reduced density of single-particle levels.
The most massive nucleus with magic numbers is 208Pb, a spherical structure, with predictions for the next spherical shell gap varying mainly among Z = 114, 120, or 126.
Recent precise mass measurements confirmed the N = 152 neutron shell gap, revealing it to be about four times weaker in lighter isotones compared to 208Pb.
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