Acquisition of a Lexxyg Research Devise for Radiative Stimulated Luminescence Dating

在美国国家科学基金会的支持下，石溪大学的发光测年研究实验室（SBU）从Freiberg Instruments获得了Lexsyg研究发光阅读器。这个最先进的设备专门设计用于进行热释光（TL）、光激发发光（OSL）和红外辐射荧光（IR-RF）测量，用于沉积样品的测年。该设备的增强能力包括红外射频刺激和检测，为学生、教师和访问学者质疑目前对非洲和欧亚大陆人类进化的理解提供了重要的资源。除了特定的项目应用外，该仪器还用于SBU实验室的工作，以改进IR-RF测年的准确性和有效性，同时扩大该方法的测年上限。这种仪器的稀有性，特别是它的物理适应性，是吸引跨学科STEM青年的关键因素，使发光测年和地质年代学研究更广泛地吸引人。年代测定方法的创新对于突破我们对过去的理解的界限至关重要。通过扩展基于发光的测年技术的应用时间范围，研究小组为以古人类进化、过去人类行为和对气候变化的反应为中心的考古和生态调查提供了直接相关的基本的新测年证据。该仪器的IR-RF测年能力为考古学家和进化人类学家获得更新世含化石沉积物的数字年龄提供了新的工具。具体来说，该设备将有助于多个正在进行的研究项目的成功，重点是：1)检查IR-RF测年方法的准确性和年龄限制，2)确定世界多个地区包含早期石器和化石的沉积层的年龄。3)证明环境变化与古文化在多个大陆的传播之间的联系。4)确定旧石器时代多个人类物种之间的文化、领土和互动，以及尼安德特人和丹尼索瓦人消失的时间；5)追踪生态变化对早期畜牧社会的影响及其对领土的开发。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

With the support of the National Science Foundation, the Luminescence Dating Research Laboratory at Stony Brook University (SBU), acquires a Lexsyg Research Luminescence Reader from Freiberg Instruments. This state-of-the-art device has been specially designed to conduct thermoluminescence (TL), optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), and infrared-radiofluorescence (IR-RF) measurements for the dating of sedimentary samples. The enhanced capacity of this equipment to include IR-RF stimulation and detection provides a vital resource for students, faculty, and visiting scholars questioning the current understanding of human evolution in Africa and Eurasia. In addition to specific project applications, the instrument is used in the SBU laboratory’s work in refining the accuracy and efficacy of IR-RF dating while expanding the upper dating limit of the methodology. The rarity of this instrument, and specifically its physical adaptability, is a key factor in engaging interdisciplinary STEM youth by making luminescence dating and research in geochronology more broadly engaging.Innovations in dating methods are crucial for pushing the boundaries of our understanding of the past. By extending the time range of the application of luminescence-based dating techniques, the research group provides fundamental new dating evidence directly relevant to archaeological and ecological investigations centered on hominin evolution, past human behavior, and responses to climate change. The instrument’s ability to service IR-RF dating provides a new tool for archaeologists and evolutionary anthropologists to obtain numerical ages on Pleistocene fossil-bearing sediments. Specifically, the device will contribute to the success of multiple ongoing research projects focused on:1) Examining the accuracy and age limit of the IR-RF dating method,2) Determining the age of sedimentary deposits containing early stone tools and fossils across multiple regions of the world. 3) Demonstrate the link between environmental changes and the dispersion of ancient cultures across multiple continents.4) Defining the cultures, territories, and interactions between multiple human species over the Paleolithic and the timing of the disappearance of Neanderthals and Denisovans,5) Tracking the impact of ecological change on early pastoral societies and their resulting exploitation of the territory.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.