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Ettore Fiorini LNGS NOW , Sept.7, 2008

Physics of rare events: insights on Napoleon death. Ettore Fiorini LNGS NOW , Sept.7, 2008. First => A justification. Searches for rare events to be carried out underground and under low environmental and “ internal ” radioactivity Suppression of the background.

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Ettore Fiorini LNGS NOW , Sept.7, 2008

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  1. Physics of rare events: insights on Napoleon death Ettore Fiorini LNGS NOW , Sept.7, 2008 First => A justification • Searches for rare events to be carried out underground and under low environmental and “internal” radioactivity • Suppression of the background E.Fiorini, NOW, Otranto Sept.7, 2008

  2. Howtorekognize the presenceoffewdisturbingelements If they are radioactive => a and g ray spectroscopy, ICPMS Neutron Activation Analysis Could sometimes reach the best sensitivity E.Fiorini, NOW, Otranto Sept.7, 2008

  3. Application to Roman Lead Lead is an excellent shielding material: • High atomic number • Reasonable mechanical properties • Reasonable cost It contains however 210 Pb bactive with an half lifetime of 22.3 years Especially dangerous for searches on WIMPS.Low energy counting rates No presence of 210 Pb < 4 m Bq/kg) , what about U and Th ?With neutron activation analysis < 10-12 g/g Particularly sensitive to search for Asonly stable isotope 75Assthermal neutrons = 4.3 barns => 76As => beta t = 26.3 d and emission of a 559.1 keV g ray

  4. Il cinque maggio .........e i dì nell'ozio chiuse in sì breve sponda,segno d'immensa invidiae di pietà profonda,d'inestinguibil odioe d'indomato amor. The use of our powerful method to investigate the presence of arsenic in hairs of historical origin Arsenic, like other heavy metals concentrates in hairs Its presence used in criminology. Many previous measurements on Napoleon hairs => poor instrumentation and often inconclusive result High schoolremembranceof Alessandro Manzoni The fifthof May.........and hisidledaysclosed in such a short site,target of immense envyand ofdeeppity,ofunchangedhateand ofuntamable love E.Fiorini, NOW, Otranto Sept.7, 2008

  5. Saint Helene E.Fiorini, NOW, Otranto Sept.7, 2008

  6. Previous measurements Assasination strongly substained by B.Weider and P.Hapgood initially based on Neutron activation measurements at Harwell on suggestion of S.Forthuvud  10 – 38 ppm of As , later  11 – 3 ppm and time distribution (no error) E.Fiorini, NOW, Otranto Sept.7, 2008

  7. Later negative measurements Measurement on the tapisserieof the Longwood House • X-rayfluorescenceanalysison the paper on the walls • 0.08 g cm-2a valuepresently non acceptable E.Fiorini, NOW, Otranto Sept.7, 2008

  8. Other negative results • Neutronactivation (2.5 x 10 11 ncm-2 s-1for 15 hours) with g rayspectroscopy => 1.4 ±1.2 ppm. Assumes no poisoning • Neutronactivationwithgrayspectroscopy • => Elba Isle1.85 ±.11 ppm. • => Saint Helene3.5 ± 0.18 ppm and 33.3 ± 0. 2.2 ppm (bad treatment) •  A living man and woman 32 ± 3 and 33 ± 2 ppb • Assumes no poisoning • Neutronactivationwithgrayspectroscopy (Saclay, unpublished) • => Saint HeleneTwohairswithanaverageof4.5 ppm B.Weider insists AtomicAbsorptionSpectroscopy (P.Kinz) => 6.99 – 58.53 ppm FBI (neutronactivationanalysis on twohairs) => 33.3 and 14 ppm E.Fiorini, NOW, Otranto Sept.7, 2008

  9. Ourexperiment (stronglysuportedby INFN) • A multisciplinaryresearchgroup • The sameprecisionas in neutrino physics • Onlyhystorical material fromcertifiedinstitutions • Mainlyduringvacations (with the exclusionofneutronactivation) • Massimiliano Clemenza, Ettore Fiorini, Laura Guerra, Costanza Herborg, Massimo Labra, Edoardo Orvini, Adalberto Piazzoli, Ezio Previtali, Francesco Puggioni, Angela Santagostino • Fundamentalphysics– Neutronactivation – Toxicologists– Hystorian • Allneutronactivationscarried out at the TRIGA Mark II of the Laboratorio di Energia Nucleare Applicata of the Pavia University • (thermalneutronfluxof1.2 1013 n cm-2 s-1 • grayspectroscopyin Milano-Bicocca and Pavia and measurementof the hair mass in Milano-Bicocca E.Fiorini, NOW, Otranto Sept.7, 2008

  10. Hystoricalmaterialsused in thissearchFrom the Napoleonic (Rome), Glauco Lombardi (Parma) and Malmaison (Paris) Museums Capello Massa (mg) Capello Massa (mg) Odierno 1 0,122 Aiglon 1826 1 0,138 Odierno 2 0,112 Aiglon 1826 2 0,108 Odierno 3 0,096 Napoleone Corsica 1 0,180 Odierno 4 0,138 Napoleone Corsica 2 0,274 Odierno 5 0,220 Napoleone Elba 1 0,232 Odierno 6 0,066 Napoleone Elba 2 0.188 Odierno 7 0,118 Napoleone S. Elena 5 maggio 1 0,126 Odierno 8 0.126 Napoleone S. Elena 5 maggio 2 0,166 Odierno 9 0,148 Napoleone S. Elena 5 maggio 3 0,090 Odierno 10 0,230 Napoleone S. Elena 5 maggio 4 0,130 Aiglon 1812 1 0,106 Napoleone S. Elena 5 maggio 5 0,224 Aiglon 1812 2 0,088 Napoleone S. Elena 5 maggio 6 0,148 Aiglon 1816 1 0,132 Napoleone S. Elena 6 maggio 1 0,254 Aiglon 1816 2 0,104 Napoleone S. Elena 6 maggio 2 0,328 Aiglon 1821 1 0,078 Josephine 1 0,268 Aiglon 1821 2 0,060 Josephine 2 0,294 E.Fiorini, NOW, Otranto Sept.7, 2008

  11. Certifiedcalibratedstandardshavebeenused E.Fiorini, NOW, Otranto Sept.7, 2008

  12. Measurements on the As content in the hairs of a living subject, and comparison with the content in the hairs of the Aiglon and of Empress Josephine Capello contemporaneo As(in 10-2 ppm) Odierno 1 8,6 ±,9 Odierno 2 5,6 ± 1,8 Odierno 3 11,0 ± 3,5 Odierno 4 12,4 ± 3,9 Odierno 5 2,4 ± 1,1 Odierno 6 7,1 ± 2,8 Odierno 7 5,4 ± 1,7 Odierno 8 4,0 ± 1,4 Odierno 9 4,3 ± 3,1 Odierno 10 4,8 ± 2 Aignon and Josephine As (in ppm) Aiglon 1812 - 1 9,4 ± 1,0 Aiglon 1812 - 2 6,1 ± 0,6 Aiglon 1816 - 1 12,6 ± 1,3 Aiglon 1816 - 2 9,9 ± 1,0 Aiglon 1821 - 1 9,9 ± 1,1 Aiglon 1821 - 2 11,2 ± 1,3 Aiglon 1826 - 1 7,6 ± 0,8 Aiglon 1826 - 2 8,5 ± 0,9 Josephine - 1 0,8 ± 0,4 Josephine – 2 1,2 ± 0,5 E.Fiorini, NOW, Otranto Sept.7, 2008

  13. Arsenic in the hairsof the Emperor Capello As (in ppm) Corsica 1770 – 1 8.3± 0,9 Corsica 1770 - 2 6,3 ± 0,7 Elba 1814 – 1 4,4 ± 0,5 Elba 1814 - 2 3,5 ± 0,4 S. Elena 5 maggio 1821 - 1 13,1 ± 1,3 S. Elena 5 maggio 1821 - 2 16,7 ± 1,7 S. Elena 5 maggio 1821 - 3 14,2 ± 1,4 S. Elena 5 maggio 1821 - 4 17,0 ± 1,7 S. Elena 5 maggio 1821 - 5 15,4 ± 2,3 S. Elena 5 maggio 1821 - 6 18,9 ± 2,2 S. Elena 6 maggio 1821 - 1 15,2 ± 2,0 S. Elena 6 maggio 1821 – 2 9,7 ± 1, E.Fiorini, NOW, Otranto Sept.7, 2008

  14. Changeof the contaminationalong the hair(the mass hasdecreased due toirradiation) Frammento Massa (mg) As (in ppm) 2A 0,012 27,6 ± 3,0 2B 0,022 22,0 ± 2,5 2C 0,026 21,4 ± 2,5 2D 0,032 17,5 ± 2,0 2E 0,032 16,6 ± 1,9 2F 0,026 20,7 ± 2,4 E.Fiorini, NOW, Otranto Sept.7, 2008

  15. Arseniccontentin the water of the springlikedby the Emperor(nearhis first grave) E.Fiorini, NOW, Otranto Sept.7, 2008

  16. Aliquote campioni As (μg/L) N.1 1,0000 N.2 1,5000 N.3 2,0000 N.4 1,2500 N.5 1,1000 N.6 0,8000 media 1,28 ± .43 Limite attualmente accettato 10 More recently: Napoleon strikes again! • Large impact in the national and international press • Recent paper on the New York Times E.Fiorini, NOW, Otranto Sept.7, 2008

  17. Hair Analysis Deflates Napoleon Poisoning Theories Was Napoleon poisoned? now, a team of scientists at Italy’s National Institute of Nuclear Physics in Milan-Bicocca and Pavia has uncovered strong evidence to the contrary. Contact with many toxicologists and with prof.A.Lugli Very precise pathological analysis Change of the weight with time from 12 samples of trousers (checked with volunteers) Connection of the weight with subcutaneous fat from authopsy of 270 patients Comparison of pictures of gastric lesions and other features of patients dyying of cancer with the very detailed authopsy of Francesco Antonmarchi (pupil of the famous Giuseppe Macagni of Siena University) In conclusion, we believe that the original autopsy findings and our analysis of Napoleon’s lifetime weight changes provide strong support for the hypothesis that Napoleon’s final defeat was caused by gastric cancer. E.Fiorini, NOW, Otranto Sept.7, 2008

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  19. Conclusions Our measurements on hairs of presently living people indicate a presence of arsenictwo order of magnitude less than those of hystorical people The procedure to attribute the large amount of Arsenic in Napoleon hairs to state his poisoning is wrong The arsenic presence in the larger sample of hairs of Napoleon after his death ever measured is in agreement among the various components and comparable to those measured in the King of Rome in four different period of his life The concentration of arsenic in Napoleon hairs in Saint Helene is larger than he was in in the Elba Isle , but is not such to justify the criminal hypothesis which would require a concentration of 45 ppm or larger. This is confirmed by the concentration with time along one hair and indicate a cronic exposure due to environmental reasons Previous and present detailed clinical analisis strongly confirm our results E.Fiorini, NOW, Otranto Sept.7, 2008

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