X-ray Physics and Digital Imaging for the Study, Preservation and Protection of Cultural Properties

Dear Colleagues,

X-rays have had a leading role in the development of heritage sciences and the conservation of cultural heritage since 1897, when a student of Roentgen took an X-ray of a painting by Dürer. Initially, researchers were attracted by the ability of X-rays to penetrate and thus reveal hidden parts of artifacts. Subsequently, their attention shifted to their extraordinary ability to precisely identify components, whether in crystal or other forms. The advent of very sophisticated sources has made it possible to carry out very effective speciation, often obtaining maps of specific components of the material. Currently, the development of MA-XRF systems has further boosted the  ability to identify the production techniques of the artefact and, in some cases, the transformations that the materials have undergone over time, thus answering the questions of art historians, archaeologists and conservators/ restorers. Over the last decade, there has been an acceleration in the development of techniques owing to the availability of advanced instrumentation and the development of new techniques. Hence, the need to update the state of the art across different sectors into which advanced research in the field of X-rays applied to the diagnostics of cultural heritage can be divided. These simple considerations form the basis of requesting contributions, which, organized into a Special Issue, can outline what is happening within the sector.

The goal of this Special Issue is to collect papers (original research articles and review papers) providing insights into the most recent developments in the use of X-ray techniques for the study, preservation and protection of cultural properties. Additionally, contributions may discuss the results that can be obtained both in humanistic research and in the field of property management and conservation.

This Special Issue will welcome manuscripts that link the following themes:

• Digital radiology;
• X-ray fluorescence (XRF);
• X-ray diffraction (XRD);
• X-ray transmission;
• Portable instrumentation XRF and XRD;
• MA-XRF application;
• Synchrotron light application in art and conservation;
• Tomography and its applications.

Particular attention is paid to multimodal approaches in which X-ray techniques are used together with other techniques. Contributions are particularly welcome in which the notable characteristic of some X-ray techniques being complementary to others are highlighted.

We look forward to receiving your original research articles and reviews.

Prof. Dr. Giovanni E. Gigante
Dr. Roberto Cesareo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Heritage is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• X-ray physics
• XRF
• XRD
• digital radiography
• CT tomography
• synchrotron light sources and non-conventional X-ray sources
• X-ray application in archaeometry and archaeological science