Information theory based Electron Paramagnetic Resonance dating

TL;DR

This paper introduces an information theory-based method for Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) dating, enabling more precise age estimation of geological and planetary samples by analyzing absorption spectra and their distances to standard distributions.

Contribution

It presents a novel approach using Information Theory distances to interpret EPR spectra, allowing accurate dating across different interaction patterns and time periods.

Findings

Provides bounds on age estimates using IT distances.

Applicable to various geologic and planetary samples.

Enhances accuracy of EPR dating methods.

Abstract

Chronometric dating is becoming increasingly important in areas such as the Origin and evolution of Life on Earth and other planets, Origin and evolution of the Earth and the Solar System... Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) dating is based on exploiting effects of contamination by chemicals or ionizing radiation, on ancient matter through its absorption spectrum and lineshape. Interpreting absorption spectra as probability density functions (pdf), we use the notion of Information Theory (IT) distance allowing us to position the measured lineshape with respect to standard limiting pdf's (Lorentzian and Gaussian). This paves the way to perform dating when several interaction patterns between unpaired spins are present in geologic, planetary, meteorite or asteroid matter namely classical-dipolar (for ancient times) and quantum-exchange-coupled (for recent times). In addition, accurate bounds to age are provided by IT from the evaluation of distances with respect to the Lorentz and Gauss distributions. Dating arbitrary periods of times~\cite{Anderson} and exploiting IT to introduce rigorous and accurate date values might have interesting far reaching implications not only in Geophysics, Geochronology~\cite{Bahain}, Planetary Science but also in Mineralogy, Archaeology, Biology, Anthropology~\cite{Aitken}, Paleoanthropology~\cite{Taylor,Richter}...