October 14, 2026

12 pm (Pacific Time)

Dr. Antonio Angellotti

Postdoctoral Researcher National Institute of Astrophysics, Rome, Italy 

Enlightened by Diamonds: What Synchrotron Techniques Can Reveal?

Natural diamonds provide a unique record of processes deep inside the Earth. Their shape, internal features and mineral inclusions preserve information about how diamonds formed, how they changed while they remained in the mantle, and how they were brought to the surface by kimberlitic magmas. Understanding this record requires analytical methods that can connect features seen at very small scales with the larger geological processes that produced them. Synchrotron techniques have greatly expanded our ability to study diamonds and their inclusions in detail.This talk will focus on synchrotron Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) microspectroscopy and its use in mapping nitrogen- and hydrogen-related features in diamonds. I will briefly trace the development of infrared spectroscopy and its applications in geology and gemmology, and show how new analytical capabilities also require us to rethink how we interpret diamond defects. An important message is that no single technique can tell the whole story. Other methods, including synchrotron Mössbauer spectroscopy and X-ray microtomography, provide additional information on iron and on the nature and distribution of mineral inclusions. Bringing these different types of observations together allows us to build a more complete picture of a diamond’s history. With new fourth-generation synchrotron sources providing better analytical capabilities, and artificial intelligence opening new ways to work with complex datasets, diamonds may now help us answer questions that were previously out of reach. What can we learn from them today, and how can researchers and the diamond industry work together to make the most of these new opportunities?

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