Application of neutron grating interferometry and tomography to study ancient Korean copper-based coins

Published

April 28, 2025

Author(s)

Youngju Kim, Michael Daugherty, Caitlyn Wolf, Daniel Hussey, Jacob LaManna, David Jacobson, Paul A. Kienzle, Daeseung Kim, Seung Wook Lee, Minsoo Han, Hahn Choo, Jongyul Kim, Taejoo Kim

Abstract

Distinguishing differences between authentic artifacts and replicas is a significant challenge in the field of cultural heritage. In this study, we explore the application of neutron grating interferometry and tomography techniques to identify ancient Korean copper-based coins by investigating structural differences between genuine objects and replicas. Neutron grating interferometry provides the microstructural information of coins, including features such as pores and precipitates, through a dark field image derived from small-angle neutron scattering. Additionally, neutron transmission tomography examines the three-dimensional internal structures and potentially hidden features of coins. Both neutron imaging techniques highlight regions that contain lead precipitates in the copper-alloy, showing consistent agreement with optical imaging and with the quantitative lead content measured by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The distinct corrosion patterns observed in the authentic coin and replica provide reasonable explanations for the general corrosion mechanism of copper-based metals. This interpretation finds support in the moderate contribution of dark field contrast from cuprite, which underlies the signal of lead precipitates.

Citation

Scientific Reports

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-99235-x

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Keywords

neutron imaging, grating interferometry, tomography, heritage

Citation

Kim, Y. , Daugherty, M. , Wolf, C. , Hussey, D. , LaManna, J. , Jacobson, D. , Kienzle, P. , Kim, D. , Lee, S. , Han, M. , Choo, H. , Kim, J. and Kim, T. (2025), Application of neutron grating interferometry and tomography to study ancient Korean copper-based coins, Scientific Reports, [online], https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-99235-x, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=957775 (Accessed April 30, 2025)