Identification of the New Isotope

In an experiment performed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's 88-inch cyclotron, the isotope ^{244}Md was produced in the ^{209}Bi(^{40}Ar,5n) reaction. Decay properties of ^{244}Md were measured at the focal plane of the Berkeley Gas-filled Separator, and the mass number assignment of A=244 was confirmed with the apparatus for the identification of nuclide A. The isotope ^{244}Md is reported to have one, possibly two, α-decaying states with α energies of 8.66(2) and 8.31(2) MeV and half-lives of 0.4_{-0.1}^{+0.4} and ∼6 s, respectively. Additionally, first evidence of the α decay of ^{236}Bk was observed and is reported.