A rapid low-background assay of $^{210}$Pb in archaeological lead
Fuente:
arXiv
Enregistré dans:
| Auteurs principaux: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Preprint |
| Publié: |
2026
|
| Sujets: | |
| Accès en ligne: | |
| Tags: |
Ajouter un tag
Pas de tags, Soyez le premier à ajouter un tag!
|
| _version_ | 1866910012689874944 |
|---|---|
| author | Consonni, M. Clemenza, M. Di Stefano, E. Iachellini, N. Ferreiro Filippini, F. Gardini, A. Grosso, G. Pattavina, L. Della Pergola, R. Quitadamo, S. Sala, E. Saliu, F. Salvini, A. Trombetta, L. |
| author_facet | Consonni, M. Clemenza, M. Di Stefano, E. Iachellini, N. Ferreiro Filippini, F. Gardini, A. Grosso, G. Pattavina, L. Della Pergola, R. Quitadamo, S. Sala, E. Saliu, F. Salvini, A. Trombetta, L. |
| contents | In this work, we present a fast and highly efficient method for the measurement of $^{210}$Pb in metallic archaeological lead using the commercial low-background liquid scintillation counter Wallac Quantulus 1220 installed at the University of Milano-Bicocca (Italy). By combining an optimized chemical preparation with pulse-shape analysis (PSA), the technique achieves sensitivities at the level of a few $10^2$ mBq/kg within one week of measurement, using sample masses below 1 g. The method enables the simultaneous identification of the $β$ decays of $^{210}$Pb and $^{210}$Bi and the $α$ decay of $^{210}$Po, allowing a direct verification of secular equilibrium within the decay chain. With extended acquisition times, detection limits below 100 mBq/kg are reached after approximately 40 days. This approach provides a rapid, accessible, and reliable tool for the radiopurity screening of lead, and is well suited for quality control and R&D activities in next-generation low-background and rare-event physics experiments. Moreover, the method has the potential to be extended to other materials relevant for low-background applications. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_02674 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | A rapid low-background assay of $^{210}$Pb in archaeological lead Consonni, M. Clemenza, M. Di Stefano, E. Iachellini, N. Ferreiro Filippini, F. Gardini, A. Grosso, G. Pattavina, L. Della Pergola, R. Quitadamo, S. Sala, E. Saliu, F. Salvini, A. Trombetta, L. Instrumentation and Detectors In this work, we present a fast and highly efficient method for the measurement of $^{210}$Pb in metallic archaeological lead using the commercial low-background liquid scintillation counter Wallac Quantulus 1220 installed at the University of Milano-Bicocca (Italy). By combining an optimized chemical preparation with pulse-shape analysis (PSA), the technique achieves sensitivities at the level of a few $10^2$ mBq/kg within one week of measurement, using sample masses below 1 g. The method enables the simultaneous identification of the $β$ decays of $^{210}$Pb and $^{210}$Bi and the $α$ decay of $^{210}$Po, allowing a direct verification of secular equilibrium within the decay chain. With extended acquisition times, detection limits below 100 mBq/kg are reached after approximately 40 days. This approach provides a rapid, accessible, and reliable tool for the radiopurity screening of lead, and is well suited for quality control and R&D activities in next-generation low-background and rare-event physics experiments. Moreover, the method has the potential to be extended to other materials relevant for low-background applications. |
| title | A rapid low-background assay of $^{210}$Pb in archaeological lead |
| topic | Instrumentation and Detectors |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.02674 |