Nuclear structure at A ~250 and the stability of the superheavy elements

The implications of level spacings and level orderings in the A ~250 mass region vis-a-vis the stability of superheavy elements are considered. Single-particle energies in the A=250 mass region are used to fix the parameters of a Woods-Saxon potential. Evidence for the ground state assignment in ²⁵⁵Md (Z = 101) is presented. The potential is extrapolated to the superheavy region and the stability of superheavy elements is estimated. A critique of zero-point corrections in the Strutinsky method is presented and an alternate approach is suggested.