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Papers by Florin Constantin

ArchéoSciences, 2019

Local production or import? This question always raises vivid debates among the archaeologists wh... more Local production or import? This question always raises vivid debates among the archaeologists when they analyse pots and ceramic fragments regardless of the studied period. In the case of pottery from the Eneolithic tell settlement of Sultana-Malu Roşu from SouthEast Romania, we tried to address this issue through a series of physico-chemical investigations. To reach this goal, we analyzed several shards from two dwellings, as well as clay samples collected from some local deposits from nearby the tell settlement. Petrographic analyses on thin sections and X-ray fluorescence coupled with X-ray diffraction analyses were performed to get mineralogical and chemical information about the archaeological ceramic and local clay samples. One of the aims of this investigation was to explore the connection between Sultana-Malu Roşu pottery and the nearby clay sources, but also to check the local origin of the analyzed pottery. The physico-chemical analyses helped us to identify the procedures and recipes employed by the prehistoric potters, and those data were used in our experimental archaeology approaches when we tried to replicate the prehistoric vessels. The investigation of prehistoric vessels was complemented by imaging analyses using radiography and X-ray computed tomography, in a trial of getting a clearer picture of the chaîne opératoire involved in pottery production process. Moreover, creating experimental replicas, we recorded how pots behave at all stages of manufacturing from modelling to firing. Alongside with the development of a reference database for Gumelnița pottery, an important achievement of this research was that we proved that the vessels from Sultana-Malu Roşu site were made using local clays. Résumé : Production locale ou importation? Cette question suscite toujours de vifs débats parmi les archéologues. Dans le cas de la poterie provenant du tell énéolithique de Sultana-Malu Roşu situé dans le sud-est de la Roumanie, nous avons essayé d'aborder cette question par une série d'investigations physico-chimiques. Pour atteindre cet objectif, nous avons analysé plusieurs tessons provenant de deux maisons, ainsi que des échantillons d'argile à proximité du tell. On a réalisé des analyses pétrographiques sur des lames minces et des analyses de fluorescence des rayons X et de diffraction des rayons X afin d'obtenir des informations minéralogiques et chimiques sur les échantillons de céramique et d'argile. L'un des buts de cette étude a été d'explorer la relation entre la poterie de Sultana-Malu Roşu et les sources d'argile des environs, afin de vérifier l'origine locale de la poterie analysée. Les analyses physico-chimiques nous ont aidés à identifier les procédures et les recettes utilisées par les artisans antiques. Les résultats ont été utilisés dans nos ateliers d'archéologie expérimentale lorsque nous avons essayé de répliquer les récipients préhistoriques. L'investigation de la céramique préhistorique a été complétée par des analyses d'imagerie en utilisant la radiographie et la tomographie aux rayons X par ordinateur, dans l'effort de former une image plus claire sur la chaîne opératoire employée dans la fabrication de la poterie. Par la création des réplicas modernes nous avons enregistré la manière dont la poterie se comporte à travers toutes les étapes de fabrication, à partir du modelage jusqu'à la cuisson. À côté du développement d'une base de données de référence pour la poterie de Gumelnița, un résultat important de cette recherche a été d'avoir prouvé que la vaisselle de Sultana-Malu Roşu était fabriquée en utilisant les argiles locales.

Journal of Physics B: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics, 2015

Calculations of the sensitivities of rotational and rovibrational transitions of isotopic lithium... more Calculations of the sensitivities of rotational and rovibrational transitions of isotopic lithium hydride in the electronic ground state to a variation of the proton-to-electron mass ratio constant are presented. A highly enhanced sensitivity coefficient is observed for the splitting of near resonant transitions arising from a cancellation between rotational intervals and frequency shifts associated respectively to the isotope effect, to the anharmonicity and to the rotation-vibration interaction. It ranges from 73 748.47(1) to-21 672(137) for the transitions with low to intermediate rotational quantum numbers in the lowest vibrational energy levels. The splittings of rotational transitions of 7 LiD in the vibrational level v = 0 and 6 LiD in the vibrational level v = 2 have a sensitivity coefficient of ~-3 for J up to 29 and that of 6 LiH R(0) and 7 LiH R(1) rovibrational transitions in the v = 0 → 1 band has a sensitivity coefficient of-585. The approach allowed comparison of frequency intervals between rotational lines with ammonia inversion lines detected in the microwave spectra of B0218+357 quasar to put constraints to a variation of the proton-to-electron mass ratio.

Heritage Science, 2019

In this paper we analyzed a batch of 64 clay weights from three archaeological sites located in R... more In this paper we analyzed a batch of 64 clay weights from three archaeological sites located in Romania (Gumelniţa, Măgura-Jilava, and Sultana) that belong to Kodjadermen-Gumelniţa-Karanovo VI cultural complex (4600–3900 cal. BC). Our approach includes an interdisciplinary investigation based on technological analysis, experimental archaeology, and X-ray CT scans coupled with statistical analysis. This investigation has a high potential to reveal relevant information regarding the technological background (e.g., inclusion, voids, temper, etc.), manufacturing stages (e.g., modeling, shaping, kneading, etc.), or transformation processes (e.g., drying and firing vs. weight and size modification) in order to identify, explain and understand thechaîne operatoirefor this type of artefacts. Moreover, correlation of the results with the experimental archaeology could offer an integrative interpretation about the material culture of past humans and its multiple meanings, but also critical in...

International Journal of Modern Physics: Conference Series, 2018

This paper reports the use of experimental archaeology and imaging methods—X-ray computed tomogra... more This paper reports the use of experimental archaeology and imaging methods—X-ray computed tomography (CT) and radiography—that were employed to decipher the manufacturing techniques of Eneolithic clay artefacts. This study was triggered by the archaeological research conducted in some tell settlements in Southeastern Romania that belong to the Kodjadermen-Gumelniţa-Karanovo VI culture (c. 4500–3900 BC). The findings reported here represent the first accounts of a recently started research project, which has as its main goal the re-creation of Eneolithic clay artefacts and the identification of the chaîne opératoire used for manufacturing these objects. In particular, X-ray imaging techniques were used as complementary methods to help understand the structure of intact Eneolithic artefacts. In a subsequent step of this research, these techniques will be employed to check for similarities between the archaeological items and modern pottery replicas created in experimental archaeology ...

International Journal of Modern Physics: Conference Series, 2014

A polychrome and gilded wooden artifact was found, in a heavily deteriorated state, in the stores... more A polychrome and gilded wooden artifact was found, in a heavily deteriorated state, in the stores of the Mdina Cathedral Museum, Malta. The object represents two zoomorphic angels holding a coat of arms. Stylistically, the artifact matches with parts of a late 16th century Organ balcony, currently exhibited at the same Museum. The present study aims to establish whether or not the newly recovered artifact might have formed part of the balcony ensemble by means of material identification techniques. The combined use of XRF, FT-IR and FT-Raman spectroscopy ensure a detailed characterization of the material used. In the case of pigments, for both artifacts the blue pigment was smalt, while cinnabar was used for red and flesh tones. The metallic decorative parts of the panels are gilded, confirmed by the presence of Au peaks in the X-ray spectra. The supporting structure of both artifacts was manufactured from poplar wood.

Documenta Praehistorica, 2013

Deciphering the internal structure of prehistoric artefacts can provide spectacular insights that... more Deciphering the internal structure of prehistoric artefacts can provide spectacular insights that might help us understand the people who made them. In order to preserve the integrity of these relics of past civilisations, it is desirable to make such investigations using non-destructive techniques. Recent decades have witnessed a growth in the X-ray computed tomography (CT) applications in the study of cultural heritage objects. This paper presents and discusses tomographic investigations of two Cucuteni ceramic statuettes discovered in Romania. The study was made with a CT device specially designed for archaeometric applications.

Physics Letters B, 2010

Decays of b hadrons into final states containing a D 0 meson and a muon are used to measure the b... more Decays of b hadrons into final states containing a D 0 meson and a muon are used to measure the bb production cross-section in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV at the LHC. In the pseudorapidity interval 2 < η < 6 and integrated over all transverse momenta we find that the average cross-section to produce b-flavoured or b-flavoured hadrons is (75.3±5.4±13.0) µb.

submitted to the …, 1997

This paper describes options under study for the ATLAS Level-2 trigger, based on commercial switc... more This paper describes options under study for the ATLAS Level-2 trigger, based on commercial switches, general-purpose processor farms, and, in certain cases, fast FPGA processors. The demonstrator program designed to evaluate the various options will be described, and preliminary results will be presented.

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, 1998

An interesting problem in the experiments using visualisation detectors is that of the geometrica... more An interesting problem in the experiments using visualisation detectors is that of the geometrical reconstruction of the trajectories. In this work a new method for the geometrical reconstruction of trajectories of the charged particles obtained in nucleus-nucleus collisions at 4.5 A GeV/c is proposed. The experiments have been performed at the Syncrophasotron from the JINR Dubna, in the frame of the SKM 200 Collaboration, and the geometrical reconstruction method is based on the facilities offered by the Sun3VME-MaxVideo20 workstation .