MACHINA, the Movable Accelerator for Cultural Heritage In-situ Non-destructive Analysis: project overview

Abstract

Over the years, transportable instrumentation for cultural heritage (CH) in situ measurements has noticeably widespread, due to logistic, economical and safety reasons. Ion beam analysis, a powerful set of analytical techniques, of great importance for CH, is instead carried out by using fixed instrumentation. To overcome this limit, the Italian national Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN), CERN (European Centre for Nuclear Research) and the Opificio delle Pietre Dure (OPD), started MACHINA, the “Movable Accelerator for CH In-situ Non-destructive Analysis: the new generation of accelerators for art” to build a transportable accelerator, compact, with strongly reduced weight, absorbed power and cost. MACHINA will be installed at the OPD and dedicated to CH. It will be moved to major conservation centres and museums, when needed. The INFN-CERN proposal, approved in December 2017, became operative in February 2018. 2018 was dedicated to the acquisition of material/instrumentations, to set up both a dummy accelerator (to test the vacuum system) and a vacuum chamber (to test the source). Due to COVID, in 2020 and 2021 the experimental work was slowed down, but we kept developing the control electronics/software and built the second-generation supporting structure. The HF-RFQ power supplies were integrated in October 2021. At the rise of 2022, after conditioning the cavities, we tested the system and in March 2022 we got the first extracted 2-MeV proton beam. In this paper, we present the structure of the MACHINA system, the approach followed and the main solutions adopted, with a special focus on the control system, and finally the first experimental results.

The Importance of Preventive Analysis in Heritage Science: MA-XRF Supporting the Restoration of Madonna with Child by Mantegna

“…Following this trail, the INFN-CHNet group, in collaboration with the Conseil Europèen pour la Recherce Nuclèaire (CERN) and the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, has started the construction of MACHINA [27], a transportable accelerator weighting about 600 kg with a reduced footprint of roughly 2.5 × 1.6 m 2 that will work with a power consumption of a few kW. It will be equipped with the so-called total-IBA approach, taking advantage of the IBA expertise of the INFN Florence division both in cultural heritage and also nuclear physics in general [28][29][30][31].…”

When a painting is a history on the rock. A methodological approach to rock art studies through the case of El Alto-Ancasti\'s Mountain

“…Regarding the methodological approach employed, results obtained highlight the relevance of neutron analysis techniques, such as XRF and RS, in exploring materials used in rock art production and the particular histories of painting manufacture at each cave. The combination of non-invasive and micro-invasive techniques emerged as a promising approach whose results also could be enhanced by the development of new portable instruments 23,24 . Finally, it must be said that cross-disciplinary studies between archaeology, chemist, physics and heritage conservation are essentials to go beyond physical and chemical data and explore new topics such as the history of rock art sites, the social practices associated with painting production and different conservation problems.…”

Muons for cultural heritage

“…Neutron sources [5] offer greater depth [6], but raise concerns about material activation. A recent advancement using a portable proton accelerator [7] shows promise but also suffers from radiation hazard concerns. In contrast, muography [8], which utilizes muons (𝜇), elementary particles naturally generated by cosmic-ray interactions in the atmosphere, represents a promising solution.…”