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Neutron Resonance Analysis

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Neutron Methods for Archaeology and Cultural Heritage

Part of the book series: Neutron Scattering Applications and Techniques ((NEUSCATT))

Abstract

The presence of resonance structures in neutron induced reaction cross sections is the basis of Neutron Resonance Transmission Analysis (NRTA) and Neutron Resonance Capture Analysis (NRCA). NRTA and NRCA are powerful non-destructive methods for determining the elemental and isotopic composition of materials and objects. Both methods are non-invasive and do not require any sample preparation. They mostly result in a negligible induced radioactivity of the objects. This is due to the relatively high detection efficiency and the neutron energy spectrum that is needed. The energy positions of the resonance profiles provide qualitative information about the composition, while the contents of the observed resonance peaks in a capture spectrum or the dips in a neutron transmission spectrum give quantitative information about the bulk composition. In this contribution the basic principles of NRTA and NRCA are discussed and a review of applications is given, with an emphasis on studies of archaeological objects and artefacts by NRCA at the time-of-flight facility GELINA.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    To make copper alloys with large amounts of zinc (brass) requires special techniques. The problem is that zinc with a boiling temperature of 907 °C evaporates and disappears from the furnace before copper melts. In the cementation method copper fragments mixed with zinc oxide (or carbonate) and charcoal are heated in a closed crucible to a high temperature, but such that copper does not melt. In this process zinc oxide is reduced, it is vaporized and thereafter slowly absorbed by the solid copper in the closed crucible. The largest amount of zinc in copper in this process that could be obtained in the process by the Romans and during most of the Middle Ages was about 28 wt%.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Reactor Institute Delft, Mekelweg 15, 2629, JB, Delft, The Netherlands

    H. Postma

  2. European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Retieseweg 111, B-2440, Geel, Belgium

    P. Schillebeeckx

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  1. H. Postma
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Applied Materials, Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Nikolay Kardjilov

  2. Physics Department, NAST Centre, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy

    Giulia Festa

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Postma, H., Schillebeeckx, P. (2017). Neutron Resonance Analysis. In: Kardjilov, N., Festa, G. (eds) Neutron Methods for Archaeology and Cultural Heritage. Neutron Scattering Applications and Techniques. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33163-8_12

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