Rodiarion Measurements, Vol. 23. Nos 213,pp. 593-600.

1994
Copyright 0 1994Elsevier science Ltd
Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved
1350-4487/!74 37.00+ .oo

13504487(94)E0043-Y

ON THE OPTICAL DATING SIGNAL FROM QUARTZ

N. A. SPOONER*
Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, 6 Keble Road,
Oxford OX1 345, U.K.

Abstract-A series of experiments were conducted on the optical dating signal from quartz. Results are
presented showing the quantitative equivalence of the light sums of the optically stimulated luminescence
(OSL) emitted by quartz under exposure to 514.5 nm light and that of the quartz “325°C” thermo-
luminescence (T’L) peak. Discrepancies observed between the OSL and TL light sums under “typical”
measurement conditions (i.e. when OSL is measured at -293 K and the 325°C TL peak is measured at
~600 K, in both cases observing ultraviolet emissions) are attributed to thermal quenching of lumines-
cence at the recombination centres (non-radiative recombination). The bleach response spectrum (using
bleaching wavebands ranging from 400.6 A 10.1nm to 899.1 A 13.2 nm) of OSL from quartz (514.5 nm
stimulation) was measured and found, within experimental errors, to be indistinguishable from that
previously measured for the 325°C TL peak of quartz Also measured was the thermal dependence of
the OSL signal under stimulation by various wavebands ranging from 480.9 A 6.8 nm to 861.1 A 12.5 nm,
in the temperature range from u 100 to m 500 K. Strong thermal assistance was found for all wavebands
tested, with the magnitude of thermal assistance increasing as stimulation wavelength increased-
behaviour not inconsistent with photoionization. Supplementary work showed that OSL production
involves a single-photon-absorption untrapping step. It is concluded that the OSL emitted by quartz under
exposure to visible light, and the 325°C TL peak of quartz, originate from one and the same trapped
electron population. Furthermore, optical untrapping of this trapped charge. population, resulting in both
the bleaching of the 325°C TL peak and the prompt emission of OSL, proceeds by the same mechanism:
single-photon-absorption photoionization direct to the conduction band.

1. INTRODUCTION optical bleaching. Several discrete experiments are

FOLLOWING the original report by Huntley et al.
(1985) on the optical dating technique, the exploita-
tion of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) from
quartz for dating purposes has been extensively inves-
tigated (e.g. Smith et al., 1986, 1990; Godfrey-Smith
er al., 1988). However, identification of the trap
population giving rise to the OSL signal from quartz
has remained equivocal. Although previous bleaching
studies on the natural thermoluminescence (TL) of
quartz concluded that the source traps of the 325°C
TL peak were the only traps readily bleachable by
visible light (Spooner, 1987; Spooner et al., 1988),
and were therefore also the likely source traps of the
OSL signal, this hypothesis remained unconfirmed.
The present paper reports a continuation of that
study, with the intention here of demonstrating the
relationship of the quartz 325 -C TL peak to the OSL
emitted by quartz under illumination by 514.5 nm
light. Specifically under investigation are, first, the
hypothesis that the source traps giving rise to the
325°C TL peak are also the source traps of the quartz
OSL signal, and second, the identity of the photo-
eviction mechanism by which these traps undergo
described, each pertaining to the mechanism of OSL
production.
Testing of the above source trap hypothesis was
attempted using two experimental approaches. The
first was to show the quantitative equivalence of the
total light sums of the OSL signal and the 325°C TL
peak. The second was to measure and confirm the
concordance of the bleaching response spectra of the
two signals. Measurements of the bleaching response
spectra were also of great relevance to elucidating the
nature of the photoeviction mechanism. Supple-
mentary experiments for the latter purpose were
made to investigate thermal dependence in the
production of the OSL signal, and the relationship of
the OSL emission intensity to the stimulating photon
flux density. The presentation here takes the form of
a phenomenological portrayal, and a fuller discussion
is in preparation.
A sample from Chaperon Rouge, Morocco
(Oxford laboratory reference 72402; Rhodes, 1990)
and a sample from Deaf Adder Gorge, northern
Australia (laboratory reference K166; Roberts et al.,
1994) were used, because of previous extensive
investigations of their luminescence behaviours. The

*Present address: Division of Archaeology and Natural History, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian
National University, Canberra, A.C.T.. 0200, Australia.

593

TL glow curves of both samples are of similar
form, displaying a high degree of sensitization with
prominent 325°C TL peaks; both samples also emit
intense OSL. Typical natural glow curves of each are
shown in Fig. l(a) and Roberts et al. (1994, Fig. 3),
respectively. For both samples, measurements were
performed only on the natural luminescence from
sedimentary quartz of 90-125 pm diameter separated
using the procedures described in Roberts et al.
(I 994). The absence of a detectable infrared-stimulated
luminescence (IRSL) signal under exposure to 800 A
80nm stimulation was interpreted as indicating an
absence of significant feldspar contamination in the
final “pure” quartz extracts (Spooner and Questiaux,
1989).
2. EXPERIMENTAL DESCRIF’TIONS AND
INSTRUMENTATION
2.1. Comparison of OSL and 325’C
A series of measurements were conducted to exam-
ine quantitatively the hypothesized equivalence of the
325°C TL peak source population with that giving
rise to the OSL signal. The reports of Wintle (1975)
on thermal quenching of the 325°C TL peak, and B.
W. Smith (personal communication) of similar be-
haviour exhibited by quartz OSL, led to the supposi-
tion that most, if not all, of the discrepancies
observed between OSL and 325°C TL peak signal
intensities were due to thermal quenching. To test
that supposition, isothermal OSL decay curves (i.e.
curves of OSL intensity vs exposure energy) were to
he measured at various temperatures and the light
sums compared with those for the 325°C TL peak.
The prediction is that the TL and OSL light sums
would trend towards the same value at any given
temperature.
@I low4
3soo
-2500
NTl..BLEACH
%
2
1500
'oQo.-3e7nPEAK.
Nn-tNn.El.EAcn)
I
i A I
o- 0 100 2M) 300 400 SW
TwmCC)
FIG. I. Glow curves of both natural and bleached quartz measured at heating rates of (a) IO K s-‘,
(b) 0.2 K s-’ and (c) 0.01 K s-‘. Overlain are the separated “325°C” TL peaks, obtained by subtraction
of the bleached glow curves from the corresponding unbleached glow curves.
N. A. SPOONER
However, given the infeasibility of measuring OSL
at temperatures exceeding 3OO”C,it was necessary to
“move” the 325°C TL peak to lower temperatures
to create a range of temperature overlap in which to
compare the light sums. Using the peak shift method,
at sufficiently slow heating rates the 325°C TL peak
can be shifted to temperatures sufficiently low to
attain a temperature overlap with the OSL measure-
ments, and thereby reveal the extent of thermal
quenching. Slow heating rates were facilitated by an
Alldred-type glow oven controlled by a purpose-built
servo capable of heating rates ranging from 10 K s-l
to 0.001 K s-‘. Measurements were made on the
natural TL (NTL) of mass-normalized aliquots of
Chaperon Rouge quartz loaded onto rhodium-plated
copper discs and heated in flowing N, . To assess the
residual TL, portions of sample were drained of the
325°C TL peak component by cycles of bleaching,
using an Oriel solar simulator filtered to remove
ultraviolet and blue light. The residual TL was then
TL peak light
measured using the same procedure as for the un-
bleached discs. Normalized glow curves representative
of both sets of discs are shown in Fig. l(a)-(c), along
with the “separated ” “325°C” TL peaks obtained
by subtraction of the bleached glow curves from the
corresponding unbleached glow curves. The set of
separated “325”C”, TL peaks is shown overlain in
Fig. 2.
Isothermal OSL measurements were performed on
fresh portions of the same sample, with optical
stimulation using the 514.5 nm line from an Ar-ion
laser system (Smith et al., 1986) interfaced to a
modified Alldred-type TL glow oven. Illumination
power at the sample was 20 mW cm-*, and cumulat-
ive exposures varied from 24 to 64 J total deposited
energy. To permit quantitative intercomparison of
the light sums, the same photomultiplier tube (PMT)
(an EMI 92354) and filters (2 mm Schott BG39 plus
5.1 mm Coming 7-5 1) were used for both the TL and
@I O.ZKlC (C) 0.01
Kh
0 loo zOu3004ca 0 100 200300400
T*vCC) T-cc,
 OPTICAL DATING SIGNAL FROM QUARTZ 59s

66660

166 150 200 250 300 350 400

T-P--CC)

FIG. 2.Shown overlain are the separated “325°C” TL peaks obtained by subtraction of bleached from
unbleached glow curves for each of the heating rates used, and normalized by sample mass.

OSL measurements. Finally, the two glow ovens used
were intercalibrated for temperature and light collec-
tion efficiency.
Representative OSL decay curves are shown
in Fig. 3, and the light sums compared with those
of the separated “325°C” TL peak in Fig. 4. These
data demonstrate the equivalence of the OSL and
TL light sums over a range of comparable tempera-
tures.
1 10 100 1000
lllumlnW3n lima (oeconds)
FIG. 3. A representative selection of isothermal OSL decay
curves, obtained using 514.5 nm stimulation (20 mW cme2
incident on sample) on separate sample ahquots, held at the
temperatures shown (“C). Data are normalized by 0.4mJ
short exposures made at 20°C and are directly comparable.
(Note the increase in the initial count rate and the initial
decay rate with increasing temperature up to - 1SOC, while
simultaneously the total light sum is in fact decreasing as
thermal quenching becomes increasingly effective.)
2.2 The bleaching response spectrum of quartz OSL
Previous work (Spooner et al., 1988) reported a
measurement of the bleach response spectrum of the
325°C TL peak. Here the bleaching response spec-
trum of 514.5 nm-stimulated OSL from Deaf Adder
quartz was determined. The bleaching wavebands
were selected from the output of an 800 W halogen
lamp by various narrow-band [ - 10 rmr full-width
half-maximum (FWHM)] interference filters. The
progression of bleaching of the 514.5 nm-stimulated
signal was monitored using short exposures from an
Ar-ion laser interfaced by the author to an Elsec Type
9010 reader (Spooner, 1993). The emitted lumines-
cence was detected by an EM1 9235QPMT with
2 rmn Schott BG39 and 5.1 mm Corning 7-51 filters.
The OSL decay curves in Fig. 5 represent the
bleaching of the 514.5 nm-stimulated OSL signal by
the various wavebands shown. These curves are
equivalent to the decay CUNes generated using the
corresponding wavebands for stimulation, as verified
at three wavebands (514.6 A 7.2 nm, 589.4 A 8.9 nm
and 639.2 A 9.6 nm; Spooner, unpublished data).
These data demonstrate the progressively greater
bleaching efficiency of shorter wavelengths, in accord
with the previous findings for quartz TL.
The energies required at the various bleaching
wavebands to reduce the OSL signal to 5%, 50% and
95% of its initial value are shown in Fig. 6. Also
shown are data from Spooner et of. (1988) on the
energies required for “complete removal** of the
325°C TL peak and to reduce the 370 and 480°C TL
peaks to 80% of their initial NTL levels. It should be
noted that the slopes of the OSL and 325°C TL peak
are congruent for wavelengths exceeding 4OOnm,
whereas at ultraviolet wavelengths a steeper slope is
seen for all three NTL peaks, with the data for
the 370 and 480°C TL peaks overlying within errors.
These results are taken as demonstrating the bleach-
ing of two, at least, separate trapped charge popula-
tions that contribute to the natural luminescence of
quartz.
596 N. A. SPOGNER

Temperature (K)
FIG. 4. The light sums of the isothermal OSL decay curves (see Fig. 3) are shown overlain with the light
sums of the separated “325°C” TL glow peaks (see Fig. 2). All data are normalized using the light sum
of the OSL decay curve measured at 20°C (4.123 x lo6 counts). [Note the logarithmic normalized
luminescence scale, and the apparent onset of thermal quenching at temperatures at least as low as 30°C
(303 K).]

2.3. Dependence of the OSL signal intensity on photon
jkx density
Various mechanisms exist by which charge may be
untrapped by photo-absorption. Mechanisms have
been proposed that involve the absorption of a single
photon only (H&t et al., 1988) or multiple photons
(Godfrey-Smith et al., 1988). Resolution between
these mechanisms is possible from the form of the
OSL intensity dependence on photon flux density.

100 ___&_.
8QQ.lnm
--Ir 031.3 nm
.-_o-.
90 799.9 nm
-0..
750.1 nm
* 720.6 nm
80 __,-
695.3 nm
- 539.2 nm
- 900.0 nm
70 ___m
559.4 nm
. ..e..
591.1 lull
. ..Q..
60 565.7 nm
..e..
.
559.9 nm
- 549.1 rim
So -..*-.
541.onm
___*-.
533.3 nm
“‘9.’
520.4 nm
40 -
514.6 nm
-
500.5 nm
30 . ..w..
489.5 nm
-
mm.- iii.lz~
20 . ..*..
449:5 nm
_._*_.
441SIMll
10 . ..-..
431.5nm
-- 420.2 nm
- 400.6 nm
0 -
F 0
8

Encrgy(mJcm-*)

FIG. 5. Bleaching of the 514.5 nm-stimulated OSL by various narrow wavebands (_ 10 nm FWHM) of
near-infrared and visible light. Individual aliquots were used for each bleaching waveband and all are
normalized by short exposures (514.5 nm) given before any bleaching exposures. Data have had the
background count rate subtracted (mostly PMT dark noise plus scattered stimulation photons) and are
corrected for depletion due to the cumulative monitoring short exposures (514.5 nm). The bleaching curves
are plotted against energy deposited in that waveband. The transects allow determination of the total
energies required for 5%. 50% and 95% reduction of the OSL for any given waveband.
 OPTICAL DATING SIGNAL FROM QUARTZ 597

108 measurements have revealed a strong thermal

dependence of OSL, with detectable luminescence
. ceasing at -95 K (Spooner, unpublished data). Opti-
10'
cal stimulation used the 514.6 A 7.2 nm waveband
325’C PEAK
filtered from the output of a xenon lamp set (Spooner
and Questiaux, 1989) interfaced to a liquid nitrogen
460°C flow cryostat (Templer, 1985). For this stimulation
106 PEAK
waveband, at least, the production of OSL appears to
\
require a thermal energy contribution (“thermal as-
sistance”) of _ 0.10 f 0.02 eV. Following H;itt et al.
105
(1988), these results imply that optical untrapping of
electrons from the 325°C TL peak traps in quartz
T might proceed via an excited bound state. As strong
E 104 evidence for the existence of such an excited state
7
would be the demonstration that the magnitude of
I* the required thermal assistance was independent of
*
103 the stimulation wavelength, this work was repeated
and extended using a selection of stimulation wave-
bands in the visible and near-infrared wavelengths.
IO2 The selection spans the full range over which
luminescence could be stimulated and the emission
discriminated from the scattered stimulation beam.
10' The data for Deaf Adder quartz are shown in Fig. 8
0 so%osLmdudion plotted against temperature (“C). The thermal assist-
0 9s%osLmeuolion ance energies were then extracted from Arrhenius
10: I analysis and are plotted in Fig. 9. At low tempera-
1 400 500 600 700
tures, the luminescence intensity is possibly reduced
WAVELENGTH (nm) not only because of the decreasing probability of
FIG. 6. The bleach response spectrum of the 514.5nm- transition to the conduction band but also because of
stimulated quartz OSL. The energies required in the various geminate neutralization of recombination (Noolandi,
narrow wavebands (- 10MI FWHM) to produce 5%, 50% 1987). However, if the absorbed photon is sufficiently
or 95% reduction of the 514.5 nm-stimulated OSL are taken
energetic then untrapping to the condition band may
from Fig. 5. The wavelength uncertainties related to the
filter bandwidths are contained within the symbols, as are continue even from the ground state at the lowest
measurement errors in the bleaching energies required. temperatures.
Systematic errors in the energy calibration are unknown but The magnitude of the thermal assistance increases
are presumed to be insignificant. Overlain is the data set with increasing stimulation wavelength, indicating
from Spooner ef al. (1988) showing the energies required
to bleach completely the 325°C TL peak and reduce the that a mechanism invoking untrapping via an excited
370 and 480°C TL peaks to 80% of their initial intensity. state (e.g. Hitt et al., 1988) is inappropriate for
[Note that the TL bleach response spectra were measured quartz. The data are also consistent with electrons
using broader bandpass filters (-40 nm FWHM).] being untrapped by single-photon-absorption from
excited levels of the ground state direct to the conduc-
Measurements were therefore made on Deaf Adder tion band, i.e. photoionization.
quartz to determine the nature of the photoeviction
mechanism.
Optical stimulation at a temperature of 20°C was 3. DISCUSSION
by short exposures (0.4 ml) to 514.5 nm light from The most spectacular illustration of correspond-
an Ar-ion laser and emissions were detected using an ence between the behaviour of the 325°C TL peak
EM1 9235Q PMT filtered by 5.1 mm Corning 7-51 and the OSL signal is shown in the comparison of
and 2 mm Schott BG39 filters. Data shown in Fig. 7 the light sums of the two signals. From this accord,
are corrected for electronic noise and signal depletion and the reasonable fit to the data presented in Fig. 4
owing to the cumulative short exposures. The linear- of the “thermal quenching” equation, q = I/[1 +
ity of response indicates a single-photon-absorption C exp( - W/ kT)], quantitative differences between
process. the light sums of the OSL (measured at 20°C) and
the TL (measured at 325°C) are here interpreted as
overwhelmingly a consequence of thermal quenching
2.4. Dependence of the OSL signal intensity on
at the recombination centres.
temperature
Two possible complicating factors are the influence
The existence or otherwise of a thermal energy of thermally induced sensitization during TL
contribution to photoeviction is critical to the deter- measurement and temperature-dependent spectral
mination of the photoeviction mechanism. Previous shifts. However, both effects are overwhelmed by the
598 N. A. SPOONER

0 50 100 150 200 250 300

Power (mWcmq2)
FIG. 7. The dependence of the relative luminescence intensity on 514.5 nm stimulation beam power.
[Note the linearity of response over the three orders-of-magnitude range of powers employed
(0.28-238mW cm-*).] The data are nonnalimd by the count-rate measured using 238 mW cm-*
stimulation power.

influence of thermal quenching, as discussed in detail likelihood of this is annulled by the congruence of
by Spooner (in preparation). Another explanation for the optical bleaching response spectra of the two
the agreement between the OSL and 325°C TL peak signals. Spooner (1987) showed the existence of two
light sums is that the magnitude of the hole popu- distinct bleaching regimes in quartz NTL. The first,
lation limits the observed luminescence. However, the in the ultraviolet region (< 400 nm), indicated that

1000000 A 460.9 A 6.6 nm

l 514.6 A 7.2 nm
. 661.1 A 6.3 nm
0 6392 A 9.6 ,.,,,.,1........:.................:........
100000
l 695.3 A 12.4 nm
0 760.1 A 13.7 nm
A 661.1 A 12.5 nm
10000
:::::::: ::::::::.::::::::.:::::::: :::::::: ::::::::.::::::::a::::::::::::::::.:::::::: ::::::::<::::::::.::::::
’..I.,....,.....,_...;,.,,,...~.....,,,
.. .. .... .. .... .. ... .. .. .. .. .. .. ..._.................
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::~::~::::::::::~::::::
.._ .._.. .: ._..._._~ _._,___ .......i..____,_._.__.._..,,_.......
1:::.._...
. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _...._..,.._....
.......i........~...........................~........................
I , .. .
.............. ....r...
r....~~M)..~.I.-...:..:::::.:. :'
1........: ........................
..~........_.
.
.................................. d
....................
....................
~::-:::.~.~-~.yt
;,:a

g *...
E
Q
1000
I
100
f
3

10

-200 -160 -100 -50 0 50 100 150 200

Temperature (“C)

FIG. 8. The thermal dependence, over temperatures ranging from - 100 to - 500 K, of the OSL stimulated
by a variety of narrow wavebands (- 10 nm FWHM) from 480.9 A 6.8 nm to 861.1 A 12.5 nm. Data have
background count rates subtracted (Predominantly PMT noise and scattered stimulation photons) and
are corrected for depletion by the cumulative short exposures. Data are not normalized for incident beam
power. The same emission wavelengths were monitored in all cases. [Note that detectable luminescence
is stimulated by even the near-infrared waveband (861.1 A 12.5 nm) at temperatures 270°C. Weaker
infrared-stimulated luminescence is presumed also to occur at lower temperatures, but is below the
detection threshold of this apparatus.]
 OPTICAL DATING
@ 0.05 -
e
0.00 . " ' . ' .
1.6 1.7 1.6 1.9
Optical Stimulation photon energy (eV)
FIG. 9. The thermal assistance (activation) energies measured for each stimulation waveband plotted
against the mean photon energy of the corresponding waveband.
bleaching of the _ 370°C and 480°C TL peaks is well
described by a single Urbach-type expression
(Urbach, 1953), whereas the 325°C TL peak shows a
bleach response in the ultraviolet region intermediate
between its response to visible wavelengths and the
ultraviolet response of the two higher-temperature
NTL peaks. This behaviour is consistent with a com-
bination of direct photoionization from the 325°C TL
peak traps and the neutralization of the relevant
recombination centres by charge untrapped by ultra-
violet photons from a deep thermally disconnected
trap population, as postulated by McKeever (1991).
In the second TL bleach regime (-400-700 mn),
only the 325°C peak is seen to bleach. Previous work
(Spooner, 1987) reported the bleaching response of
the 325°C TL peak to be reasonably well described by
the Urbach exponential relationship, although with a
different bleaching susceptibility to that observed in
the ultraviolet region. The different susceptibilities
are evidence of the bleaching of two, at least, separate
populations of trapped charge, in accord with the
model proposed by McKeever (1991). An Urbach-
E . .
--_
E photon
r untrapped electrons proceed via the same pathway,
FIG. 10. A simplified configuration coordinate diagram
representing the photoionization process responsible for
the production of quartz OSL (under stimulation by near-
infrared and visible light) and also the bleaching of the
325°C TL peak. (Note that details of the bound state energy
level distribution and the conduction band density of states’
distribution are unknown.)
SIGNAL FROM QUARTZ 599
' . '
2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6
type expression also gives a good fit to the OSL data
shown in Fig. 6, and the bleaching susceptibility of
the OSL signal accords with that observed by
Spooner et al. (1988) for the 325°C TL peak.
The photoeviction mechanism is consistent with
a single-photon photoeviction process, as inferred
from Fig. 7. Thermal dependence of OSL intensity
was found to be of the form E,,,_., &,,_) =
4.26 exp[ - 1.59E~,timtitifupho,,,~o.)l,
where the energies are
in electron volts. Such an exponential relationship
eliminates the possibility of untrapping via an excited
level of the bound state and is instead consistent with
photoionization directly to the conduction band. A
simplified configuration coordinate diagram illustrat-
ing this mechanism is shown in Fig. 10.
4. CONCLUSIONS
The data sets presented here are interpreted as
verifying the hypothesis that the quartz 325°C TL
peak and OSL represent one and the same trapped
electron population. Trivial contributions to the OSL
may originate from traps associated with the other
NTL peaks but the quartz OSL signal (514.5mn
stimulation) appears overwhelmingly dominated by
contributions from the source traps giving rise to the
325°C TL peak. The differences in light sum between
TL measurements of this trapped charge population
and OSL measurements are primarily attributed to
thermal quenching at the recombination centres.
Furthermore, as both modes of untrapping (thermal
and optical) result in emission spectra compatible
with the use of the same population of recombination
centres, it is postulated that thermally and optically
namely through the conduction band, to these re.-
combination centres. This photoeviction mechanism
is a single-photon-absorption process involving direct
photoionixation to the conduction band. The tem-
perature dependence observed in the production of
OSL is inherent to the photoionization mechanism.
600 N. A. SPOONER
Acknowledgements-Valuable discussions with A. M.
Stoneham, R. H. Templer and D. G. Questiaux-Spooner are
gratefully acknowledged. R. G. Roberts is similarly thanked
for constructive comments and improving the manuscript,
and providing the Deaf Adder quartz sample. The efforts of
M. Franks, D. Seeley, J. Fenton and A. Bowley made this
work possible through the construction of much of the
apparatus used. Similarly, thanks are extended to A. Allsop
and D. Stoneham, and to W. Hall (Elsec) for the collabora-
tive development of the Else-c Type 9010 automated reader.
The support of M. J. Aitken and M. S. Tite, and the
financial support of the bursary of RLAHA, are gratefully
recognized.
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