Detailed study of a thermoluminescent mineral exhibiting anomalous fading

Anomalous fading, the unexpected loss of charge carriers responsible for high temperature thermoluminescence, has been shown to affect some minerals that are found in samples proposed for archaeological and geological thermoluminescence (TL) dating studies. This paper describes detailed studies of the phenomenon in one feldspar sample. Three possible explanations are considered and further experiments are proposed to distinguish between them. The implications of anomalous fading for TL dating are assessed and some ways of circumventing its ill-effects are suggested.