Discovery of the elements with atomic numbers Z=113, 115 and 117 (IUPAC Technical Report)

The fourth IUPAC/IUPAP Joint Working Party (JWP) on the priority of claims to the discovery of new elements 113, 115, 117 and 118 has reviewed the relevant literature pertaining to several claims. In accordance with the Criteria for the discovery of elements previously established by the 1991 IUPAC/IUPAP Transfermium Working Group (TWG), and reinforced in subsequent IUPAC/IUPAP JWP discussions, it was determined that the RIKEN collaboration has fulfilled those Criteria for element Z = 113. The Dubna-Livermore-Oak Ridge collaborations claims for 115 and 117 are also in compliance. The discussion of element Z = 118 will appear in a subsequent report. A synopsis of experiments and related efforts is presented along with some commentary guiding future applications of the Criteria.