ISIS Neutron and Muon Source Data Journal

Isotope analysis of materials using muonic X-ray and gammas

Abstract: Isotope composition can be affected by natural phenomena and human activity. These effects can provide information on the origin of the material. The most commonly known isotope analysis tool is carbon dating. However, a range of isotopes can be used within cultural heritage and archaeology (H, B, C, N, O, Mg, Si, S, Cl, Ar, Ca, Fe, Cu, Zn, Sr, Ag, Sn, Nd, Hg, Pb, Th, U) for dating, provenance, diet of humans, migration among humans and even ore prospecting pollution [1]. Isotope analysis is not only restricted to cultural heritage, it can be applied to many other areas, such as: forensics, food and beverage industry, environmental sciences, history, heritage science, and also utilised to detect forgeries in art. During the muon capture process a gamma is released and is characteristic of the isotope. If this project is successful, it will enable much greater information to be extracted.

Local Contact: Dr Adrian Hillier
Experimenter: Professor Kevin Butcher
Experimenter: Miss Bethany Hampshire
Local Contact: Dr Adam Berlie

DOI: 10.5286/ISIS.E.RB1920721

ISIS Experiment Number: RB1920721

Publisher: STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source

Data format: RAW/Nexus
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Data Citation

The recommended format for citing this dataset in a research publication is as:
[author], [date], [title], [publisher], [doi]

For Example:
Dr Adrian Hillier et al; (2019): Isotope analysis of materials using muonic X-ray and gammas, STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, https://doi.org/10.5286/ISIS.E.RB1920721

Data is released under the CC-BY-4.0 license.