Themed collection Synchrotron radiation and neutrons in art and archaeology

Loïc Bertrand, Philippe Dillmann and Ina Reiche introduce the Synchrotron radiation and neutrons in art and archaeology 2014 themed issue, and give an overview of the conference held in the Louvre Museum, Paris.

For the first time quantitative Mn valence state maps were obtained, by conversion of ratio maps I_Mn(E1)/I_Mn(E2) using a calibration curve, and were used in the evaluation of reducing treatments on historical glass suffering from Mn browning.

Realgar and orpiment, arsenic sulfide pigments used in historic paints, degrade under the influence of light, resulting in transparent, whitish, friable and/or crumbling paints.

Approaches for the identification of minor components in complex XRF datasets and software packages for their processing are assessed.

We propose a combination of elemental and molecular μ-mapping techniques for the detection of trace metal ions and molecules in historical samples of Zn-based white pigments.

Eight complementary techniques were successfully applied to study a pair of very alike Baroque colored wax figurines.

XRPD was applied to resolve many confusing results obtained by XRF, SEM/EDX, or other techniques in the investigations of Siemiradzki's works from the National Museum in Krakow (Poland).

This rock art study of La Garma provides new and original insights into the characterisation of the prehistoric paint palette.

STXM makes it possible to map the distribution of an iron gall ink on a paper fibre cross-section.

Synchrotron analysis of a 50 million year old bird from the Green River Formation (USA) reveals the chemistry of preservation.

Confocal XFI and XAS using a spoked channel array reveal elemental distribution and speciation in 3D space with improved spatial resolution and energy-independent probing volume.

This work, through PGAA and XRF measurements, enabled the detection of silver debasement and alloy changes in pre-Roman age coins.

Lustre is characterized by a few hundreds of nanometers thick heterogeneous metal-glassy nano-composite film.

Laboratory and synchroton X-ray tomography highlights the role of multiscale porosity in the corrosion process of iron rebars from the Cathedral of Orléans.

Three mortar samples from the Abbey of Saint John, in the Swiss village of Mustair have been investigated using synchrotron radiation based techniques (XRF and XANES).

Neutron tomography (NT), time of flight neutron diffraction (TOF-ND) and laser induced plasma spectroscopy (LIPS) were combined in the archaeometallurgical study of hollow bronze figurines.

In situ analyses under synchrotron XRD have highlighted the corrosion processes of a rebar embedded in concrete in the presence of chloride.

In order to study the initial corrosion processes of silver in the presence of corrosive gases in situ time-lapse XRD experiments were performed. The data collected using a newly combined environmental cell/gas flow set up introduces a set of highly useful tools for scientists to study time-lapse gaseous corrosion at ambient temperature and pressure.

Combination of thermodynamic and experimental approaches to study the instability of red mercury sulfide and the formation and evolution of the different degradation compounds.

Neutron Diffraction represents the ideal technique for the characterisation of the micro-structural properties of ancient metals, allowing retrieval of information on the smelting process, and the mechanical and thermal treatments applied during the manufacture of the sample.

FS-XANES imaging using the Maia detector is proposed for studying chrome yellows alteration in Van Gogh artworks.

NRTI: a new non-destructive neutron-based technique for the image reconstruction of the bulk elemental composition.

Our paper produces results on production techniques of prehistoric metal artefacts using non-destructive neutron-based methods, considering aspects of heritage protection.

The firing conditions used to produce an Athenian vessel in the 5th century B.C. were determined by XANES spectroscopy.

Medieval chemical coloration revealed by XANES measurements on the silver gilded statuettes from the Holy Lady Shrine, 13^th century. It is from the Holy Lady collegiate church in Huy, Belgium.

Synchrotron investigation on sigillata to accurately assess the size and distribution of different mineral phases contained in the slip.

Dematiaceous (black pigmented) fungi interact with a cellular paper matrix growing on the surface and in paper bulk.

First principles calculations explain the presence, colour, and photo-reactivity of Hg-containing compounds involved in vermilion degradation.