1. Laboratory of Nuclear Techniques for Environment and Cultural Heritage
LABEC, Florence
Laboratory of Nuclear Techniques for Environment and Cultural Heritage
F. Lucarelli

2. In Florence....
Long-time tradition with PIXE (and IBA in general) applied to Cultural Heritage
This activity started in the middle of the Eighties with an old Van de Graaff single-ended accelerator...
Until mid 1980’s a local activity of nuclear physics with the 3 MV van de Graaff accelerator

3. Ion Beam Analysis (IBA)
Material composition analysis through beam particle bombardment
typically proton or alpha beams at some MeV energy
radiation detection and spectral analysis
emission of radiation of characteristic energies (X-rays, g-rays, particles…)
particle accelerator
particle beam

5.
move of the Physics Department to the new campus in Sesto Fiorentino
INFN and University create a new lab
new 3 MV Tandetron, designed from the beginning to perform both IBA and Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS)
The new laboratory, LABEC, is operational in May 2004

6. Tandetron, 3 MV max. terminal voltage
Copyright foto Luca Casonato, 2009
Tandetron, 3 MV max. terminal voltage
3 independent ion sources (single-cahode Cs sputter, 59-cathode
Cs sputter, Duoplasmatron)
6 beamlines for Ion Beam Analysis (IBA)
1 beamline for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS)

7. Accelerator hall

8. The Tandetron facility at LABEC
3 MV Tandetron
external beam
(Environment)
IBA dual
source
external
micro-beam
multi-sample
AMS source
external beam
(Cultural Heritage)
high-energy
AMS
spectrometer
chopped beam line
multi-angle scattering chamber
multipurpose IBA vacuum chamber

9. Activities at LABEC
technological developments (electronics and process automation, data acquisition systems, detection setups, further beamlines)
methodological developments (test of new ideas for application procedures)
measurements in the framework of both:
interdisciplinary research projects in collaboration with other Institutions (CNR, Cultural Heritage safeguard Institutions, Environmental Protection Agencies) and University Departments other than Physics Dpts
“internal” collaborations supporting other nuclear physics groups (detector tests, radiation damage measurements, etc.)

10. 30-35% IBA for Cultural Heritage and other applications
25-30% AMS
30% IBA aerosol
30-35% IBA for Cultural Heritage and other applications
10% neither AMS nor IBA
Beam time

11. AMS at LABEC
The low-energy and high-energy AMS lines are equipped with the necessary hardware to implement the measurement of 14C, 10Be, 26Al and 129I.
at LABEC AMS  14C
14C, in turn, mainly for archaeological dating
Standard precision < 0.5% (< 0.3% when required)
Overall background: ~ y equivalent

12. Summary of present state of radiocarbon AMS measurements
at LABEC-INFN Florence
Around 400 samples per year
Standard precision < 0.5% (< 0.3% when required)
Overall background: ~ y equivalent

13. AMS 14C dating at LABEC
about 300 samples analysed per year (home-prepared) prepared outside
Distribution of analysed materials

14. Relics of St. Francis (tunics and other) kept in the church of St
Relics of St. Francis (tunics and other) kept in the church of St.Francis in Cortona and in the Basilica of Santa Croce (Florence)
Etruscan site diggings in Southern Tuscany
River sediments – the Abak Creek layers in Ethiopia
Archaeological diggings in downtown Florence (Palazzo Vecchio and surroundings)

15. Scientific American online
6 settembre 2007
Nature.com
5 settembre 2007

16. The Artemidor’s papyrus
The icon in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli, Rome
The Rosano Crucifix

17. Atmospheric aerosols
Solid or liquid particles with a diameter from 10-3 to 102 μm
natural or anthropogenic sources
primary or secondary origin
Impact on the environment
Impact on human health
Impact on cultural heritage

18. What do we need to study aerosols
Many good data concerning:
PM concentration and composition
size distribution
optical properties
time and space evolution
Quantification and identification of PM emissions sources through receptor models
OUTPUT
Contribution to pollution abatement policies to improve air qualitity
Contribution to climate models to assess the role of atmospheric aerosols in radiative forcing

19. PIXE-PIGE external set-up at LABEC for aerosol composition measurementsHe
Gamma ray det. HPGe
Light elements X ray detector (SDD)
Faraday cup
Higher-Z elements X ray detector (Si(Li))

20. LABEC aerosol group research projects
Local impact:
Study of PM10, PM2.5 and PM1 in Tuscany (PATOS, PATOS 2) and in major Italian towns, Barcelona, Sevilla, Elche, Alicante, London, Japan
Global impact:
EPICA - European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica
TALDICE - TALos Dome Ice CorE
ANDRILL - Antarctic Geological Drilling
AMMA - African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis
MAIL - Marine Aerosol in the Island of Lampedusa
DIRIGIBILE ITALIA (multidisciplinary study of climate change in Arctic region)
Environmental monitoring at cultural heritage sites
Indoor pollution/Personal exposure:
HEARTS - Health Effects And Risks of Transport Systems

21. Average source apportionment

22. Las Hogueras (Alicante)

23. Las Hogueras (Alicante)

24. Remote areas Antarctic dust Desert aerosol
dust particles deposited over the Antarctic ice sheet and archived in ice core samples (spanning the last 220 kyr), to investigate global climate changes
collected during the
AMMA project
(African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses)

25. AMS 14C measurements in aerosols
14C fraction with respect to modern carbon:
~ 0 in the aerosols produced by fossil fuels
~ 1 in the aerosol of biogenic origin or from biomass burning
 Marker of pollution from fossil fuels burning
S. Szidat, Science 323 (2009), 470

26. Ion Beam Analysis techniques for Cultural Heritage
LABEC – Laboratorio di Tecniche Nucleari per l’Ambiente
e i Beni Culturali

27. Using external beam set-ups we can investigate in a totally non-destructive way the complete quantitative composition of any kind of artwork

28. External PIXE-PIGE analysis of the glass tesserae from Villa Adriana
Analysis of ancient glass,
...glazed terracottas,
External PIXE analysis of the “Ritratto di fanciullo” by Luca Della Robbia – before restoration at the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence
External PIXE-PIGE analysis of the glass tesserae from Villa Adriana

29. ...ancient illuminated manuscripts,
External-beam PIXE analysis of the frontispiece of Pl.16,22 (XV century, Biblioteca Laurenziana in Florence)
...ancient illuminated manuscripts,
...historical documents,
Inks in Galileo’s manuscripts (Florence National Library) analysed by external PIXE

30. …ancient embroideries, …early photographs,
PIXE-PIGE analysis of a print on metal plate of the XIX century
Micro-PIXE and –PIGE analysis of gold threads of a Renaissance embroidery based on a cartoon by Raffaellino del Garbo

31. ...drawings,
PIXE-PIGE analysis of a drawing on prepared paper, school of Verona, XVI cent.
PIXE-PIGE analysis of a drawing on prepared paper, by Leonardo or his school

32. ...paintings on wood or canvas
Differential PIXE and PIGE analysis of the
Madonna dei Fusi by Leonardo
Micro-PIXE and -PIGE analysis of the
“Ritratto Trivulzio” by Antonello da Messina

33. Tavoletta with S.Lucia, from Pala Albergotti, Arezzo Andrea Mantegna
Giorgio Vasari
Tavoletta with S.Lucia, from Pala Albergotti, Arezzo
Andrea Mantegna
Madonna col Bambino, oil on canvas, Accademia Carrara di Bergamo

34. …manufacts in semi-precious stones,
“Disc with star” from the “Collezione Medicea di Pietre Ornamentali” of the Natural History Museum in Florence ( mineralogy and lithology division)

35. Two dedicated external beamlines
beam size defined by collimation (Ø ÷ 1 mm)
strong focusing system, quadrupole doublet (Ø 8÷10 mm)

36. External microbeam line
< 10 mm beam size on target
magnetic scan of areas within the window aperture
list-mode (E,x,y) DAQ
includes detection systems for PIXE, PIGE,
backward and forward particle scattering,
beam
ion induced luminescence (IBIL)

37. Elemental mapping The eye of the Virgin The veil Au Lα Pb Lα Sn K Fe
2 mm
Au Lα Al Si
Pb Lα
2 mm
The veil

38. External microbeam line
full control of beam currents from a few nA down to ultra low (hundreds of particles/sec)
higher beam intensities 
elemental PIXE –PIGE maps also for trace elements (of great interest e.g. for geologists)
ultra-low currents 
possibility of scanning transmission ion microscopy (STIM)
tests of detectors response as a function of position
(through IBICC, ion beam induced charge collection)

39. Another achievement, exploiting IBMM
(Ion Beam Modification of Materials)
Ion lithography (with protons or even heavier ions) through beam-induced alteration of material properties (optical, electrical, etc.) on selected zones “drawn” by the microbeam scan (material properties are selectively altered in depth thanks to the Bragg peak)

40. Electrostatic deflector beamline (pulsed beam facility)

41. Beam bunches with different particle multiplicity can be delivered directly to a detector for response tests to particles
3 MeV protons
5 MeV protons

42. Not only accelerator-based techniques at LABEC
Design, construction and applications of an innovative transportable XRF system
with superior performance, in particular for low-Z elements detection

43. The transportable XRF spectrometer
● independent PS for the two tubes
● data acquisition, He flow, X-Y-Z displacement and video camera are remotely controlled (via Ethernet) by the same computer
Controller
Measurement head
● 2 X ray tubes (30 kV max, 1 mA max) with two different anodes (typically Mo e Ti; W if needed)
● interchangeable collimators; typical beam diameter 0.5 mm
● SDD detector (active area 10 mm2, 450 μm thickness, FWHM 139 eV @ 5.9 keV)
● helium flow in front of both tubes and detector
● 2 laser beams for accurate positioning
● telecamera

44. ultramarine blue layer
Ultramarine blue layer on chalk
XRF spectrum with our spectrometre Na Al Si
S (+Mo) K Ca Fe
ultramarine blue layer

45. of the Florence Baptistery) Gilded bronze
“Head of a Prophet” by Lorenzo Ghiberti (part of the Paradise Gate
of the Florence Baptistery)
Gilded bronze

46. Affresco della Resurrezione
Piero della Francesca
Sansepolcro,
Museo Civico

48. Crocefisso, Maestro di Figline
Santa Croce

49. Globi del Coronelli
Museo Galileo

50. Santa Croce, Cappella Bardi – ciclo di affreschi di Giotto

51. Madonna del Granduca
Raffaello
Galleria Palatina

52. Thank you for your attention!

53. LABEC – chi ci lavora Luca Cararresi Silvia Calusi (post doc)
Massimo Chiari
Lorenzo Giuntini (tec)
Franco Lucarelli
Pier Andrea Mandò Marco Manetti (tec.)
Silvia Nava
Francesco Taccetti (tec.)
Silvia Calusi (post doc)
Giulia Calzolai (post doc)
Mariaelena Fedi (ricerc. tempo det.)
Lucia Caforio (phd st.)
yellow  INFN
white  UniFi

54. S.Francesco Church at Cortona
It was build by Padre Elia a few years after the death of St- Francesco (1226). Three important relics are kept there :
A pillow, on which tradition tells St. Francis was leaning his head while passing away
The frok; according to tradition, the one used to cover the Saint’s body at the moment of his death.
un evangeliario

56. Continuous streaker sampler
1 Hour
Montelupo Fiorentino: artistic glass industry
Identification of fugitive emissions from industries
Traffic emissions
No chemical analysis is possible!

57. Ice-dust and PSA-sediments composition
Confronto con composizione sedimenti nelle possibili zone sorgenti per studiare i fenomeni di trasporto
Composizione media del mineral dust durante le ultime ere glaciali

58. External STIM set-up

59. STIM of a thin copper grid
map of higher-energy transmitted protons
map of lower-energy transmitted protons