Grand Louvre Accelerator for Elemental Analysis

AGLAE, the Grand Louvre Accelerator for Elemental Analysis, was first built in the Centre de recherche et de restauration des musées de France (C2RMF) in 1988 and is so far the only particle accelerator in the world fully dedicated to the physio-chemical characterisation of heritage materials. Already open to French, European, and international researchers, AGLAE featured in several European projects such as Labs-TECH, EU-ARTECH, CHARISMA, and IPERION CH. Starting from 2022, it will become one of the most significant French contribution to the European Research Infrastructure for Heritage Science (E-RIHS), where it can be a showcase facility. In order to enable better research of heritage materials, AGLAE is now becoming NewAGLAE, with better performances and new features tailored for heritage scientists. These improvements include the automation of the line, better chemical imaging, and a newer, more sensitive, multi-detector. ADVANTAGES: A database of analytical results on materials with known geochronological backgrounds and/or known authors, gathering more than 25 years of data; A unique geographical location in a secure museum complex; A specialized team with deep knowledge of ion beam analysis providing technical support and scientific expertise. NEW PERFORMANCES: A fully automatic beamline for around-the-clock operation; A more sensitive multi-detector fit for the analysis of fragile materials such as paint layers composed with by inorganic pigments and organic binders; The operation of a chemical imaging system for all techniques at the micrometric scale. The beam of AGLAES is extracted in the air, enabling to study any types of objects without constraint of size or conservation state. Inorganic materials (stones, glass, ceramics, metals…) can be safely studied to search for: • Provenance and trade routes of materials (minerals, metals, etc.). • Manufacturing recipes and production facilities centres (glass, ceramics, metals, etc.). • Manufacturing processes and history of techniques (sign of manufacturing parameters and/or steps of production). • Degradation processes. • Impact of new restoration techniques on materials (glass, ceramics, metals, etc.).