Muon radiography is a promising technique for imaging the internal density structures of targets such as tunnels,pyramids,and volcanoes up to a scale of a few hundred meters by measuring the flux attenuation of cosmic...Muon radiography is a promising technique for imaging the internal density structures of targets such as tunnels,pyramids,and volcanoes up to a scale of a few hundred meters by measuring the flux attenuation of cosmic ray muons after they have traveled through these targets.In this study,we conducted experimental muon radiography of one of the volcanoes in the Wudalianchi area in Northeast China to image its internal density structure.The muon detector used in this study was composed of plastic scintillators and silicon photomultipliers.After approximately one and a half months of observing the crater and conduit of the Laoheishan volcano cone in Wudalianchi from September 23^(rd) to November 10^(th) 2019,more than 3 million muon tracks fulfilling the data selection criteria were collected.Based on the muon samples and high-resolution topography obtained through aerial photogrammetry using an unmanned aerial vehicle,a density image of the Laoheishan volcano cone was constructed.The results obtained in this experiment demonstrate the feasibility of using a radiography technique based on plastic scintillator detectors.To obtain the density distribution,we performed a detailed background analysis and found that low-energy charged particles dominated the background noise.Relatively higher densities were found near the surface of the volcanic cone,whereas relatively lower densities were found near the center of the volcanic cone.The experiment in this study is the first volcano muon tomography study performed in China.Our work provides an important reference for future research.展开更多
The apparent teleconnection between cosmic-ray muon flux over a base point in the Caribbean is discussed against the background of an extensive record of indices representing large-scale climatic phenomena, but limite...The apparent teleconnection between cosmic-ray muon flux over a base point in the Caribbean is discussed against the background of an extensive record of indices representing large-scale climatic phenomena, but limited cosmic-ray muon flux data. Many investigators have shown that large-scale climate phenomena influence sub-seasonal and seasonal climate variability, especially in the northern hemisphere and their impacts on the Caribbean are well documented. These climatic phenomena that impact the Caribbean include, but are not limited to, the El Nino Southern Oscillation, the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation, the North Atlantic Oscillation, and the Arctic Oscillation which is now being investigated. Although strong statistical correlation between variables over non-contiguous regions are not absolute as proof of teleconnections, the correlation strength can be used as an indication of its existence. The data gathered at the Mona Campus of the University of the West Indies, in Jamaica, using a simple QuarkNet 6000 muon detector over the period September 2011 to September 2013, showed an apparent significant relationship with these climatic indices. This suggests that cosmic-ray muon flux might be linked to the behavior of the climate phenomena and therefore can be used as a climate or meteorological index over the Caribbean.展开更多
The Jamaican primary dry season extends from November-April with the driest period being January-March each year. Examination of the rainfall records over several decades reveal months that experienced a sharp increas...The Jamaican primary dry season extends from November-April with the driest period being January-March each year. Examination of the rainfall records over several decades reveal months that experienced a sharp increase in rainfall while sometimes they are drier than normal. During this dry season, some of the weather systems that impact the island significantly are cold fronts, highs pressure systems and troughs that migrate from the mainland USA. Major Sudden Stratospheric Warmings (SSW) occur routinely north of 60°N and severely impact weather over the North American continent. The islands of the Greater Antilles also experience inclement weather during this period as weather systems migrate southwards and impact the Caribbean. Severe winter weather due to the increase frequency and intensity of storms related to SSW events over North America is important to the Jamaican economy as tourists escape harsh winters by travelling to the island. Predicting the variability of rainfall during the primary dry season is therefore important as it has significant implications for event planning, tourism and agriculture. Cosmic-ray Muon flux has been found to be positively correlated with the atmospheric effective temperature used to indicate the occurrence of SSW events. Current research investigates the relationship between cosmic-ray Muon flux, SSW events and primary dry season rainfall. Our findings suggest that a significant change in rainfall occur over Jamaica during the primary dry season on average 29 days after the central date or on average 15 days after the SSW events end. Our study also suggests apparent similarities in the behaviour of cosmic-ray Muon flux over Jamaica to those when major SSW occurs at high latitudes. We therefore argue that the Muon detectors at low latitudes have practical use with respect to identifying SSWs and merits further study.展开更多
Cosmic ray muon radiography which has good penetration ability and is sensitive to high-Z materials, is an effective method to detect shielded nuclear materials. This paper summarizes methods developed to process muon...Cosmic ray muon radiography which has good penetration ability and is sensitive to high-Z materials, is an effective method to detect shielded nuclear materials. This paper summarizes methods developed to process muon radiography in Tsinghua University. The methods include detector data correction, reconstruction algorithms （maximum likelihood scattering, MLS, and the maximum likelihood scattering and displacement, MLSD） acceleration, and the modification of the normalized mean absolute distance measure （NMADM） into a picture comparison binarization method （PCBM） which is more suitable for cosmic ray muon radiographs. Simulations demonstrate that all these methods give excellent results, so that cosmic muon radiography can become more widely used.展开更多
This paper studies the possibility of using the scattering of cosmic muons to identify threatening high-Z materials. Various scenarios of threat material detection are simulated with the Geant4 toolkit. PoCA （Point o...This paper studies the possibility of using the scattering of cosmic muons to identify threatening high-Z materials. Various scenarios of threat material detection are simulated with the Geant4 toolkit. PoCA （Point of Closest Approach） algorithm reconstructing muon track gives 3D radiography images of the target material. Z-discrimination capability, effects of the placement of high-Z materials, shielding materials inside the cargo, and spatial resolution of position sensitive detector for muon radiography are carefully studied. Our results show that a detector position resolution of 50 μm is good enough for shielded materials detection.展开更多
Introduction Cosmic-ray muon imaging is a kind of nondestructive detection technology which can be used to detect unknown objects in geological exploration,civil engineering and nuclear safety.Transmission imaging and...Introduction Cosmic-ray muon imaging is a kind of nondestructive detection technology which can be used to detect unknown objects in geological exploration,civil engineering and nuclear safety.Transmission imaging and scattering tomography schemes are studied.Method The transmission scheme uses a multilayer detector to measure the direction of a cosmic-ray muon passing through an object.The scattering scheme involves placing two detectors upstream and downstream of the object to record the incident and exit directions of the muon passing through the object.The effect of the detector resolution on the imaging clarity of transmission imaging was studied.The applicable scenarios of the two schemes were analyzed.Results The results by calculating show that in the transmission imaging of a hundred-meter object,a spatial resolution of 2.5 m can be achieved,and Cu and Fe can be discriminated with a density difference of 1.1 g/cm3.Scattering tomography is mainly suitable for meter-level objects,which can detect 0.2 m chamber and distinguish 0.05 m heavy metal blocks in rock.展开更多
China Jinping Underground Laboratory(CJPL)is ideal for studying solar,geo-,and supernova neutrinos.A precise measurement of the cosmic-ray background is essential in proceeding with R&D research for these MeV-scal...China Jinping Underground Laboratory(CJPL)is ideal for studying solar,geo-,and supernova neutrinos.A precise measurement of the cosmic-ray background is essential in proceeding with R&D research for these MeV-scale neutrino experiments.Using a 1-ton prototype detector for the Jinping Neutrino Experiment(JNE),we detected 264 high-energy muon events from a 645.2-day dataset from the first phase of CJPL(CJPL-I),reconstructed their directions,and measured the cosmic-ray muon flux to be (3.53±0.22_stat.±0.07_sys.)×-10^(-10)cm^(-2).The observed angular distributions indicate the leakage of cosmic-ray muon background and agree with simulation data accounting for Jinping mountain's terrain.A survey of muon fluxes at different laboratory locations,considering both those situated under mountains and those down mine shafts,indicates that the flux at the former is generally a factor of (4±2) larger than at the latter,with the same vertical overburden.This study provides a convenient back-of-the-envelope estimation for the muon flux of an underground experiment.展开更多
Cosmic-ray data of 90 M events have been collected and used for calibration,alignment as well as detector tuning. A special tracking algorithm for the BESⅢ muon counter is developed and verified with Monte-Carlo simu...Cosmic-ray data of 90 M events have been collected and used for calibration,alignment as well as detector tuning. A special tracking algorithm for the BESⅢ muon counter is developed and verified with Monte-Carlo simulation and then further confirmed with the cosmic-ray data. The obtained strip resolutions are in good agreement with the design values. A new alignment approach for the BESⅢ muon counter is confirmed with the cosmic-ray data and proposed to be used in future analysis of experimental data.展开更多
Solar,terrestrial,and supernova neutrino experiments are subject to muon-induced radioactive background.The China Jinping Underground Laboratory(CJPL),with its unique advantage of a 2400 m rock coverage and long dista...Solar,terrestrial,and supernova neutrino experiments are subject to muon-induced radioactive background.The China Jinping Underground Laboratory(CJPL),with its unique advantage of a 2400 m rock coverage and long distance from nuclear power plants,is ideal for MeV-scale neutrino experiments.Using a 1-ton prototype detector of the Jinping Neutrino Experiment(JNE),we detected 3 43 high-energy cosmic-ray muons and(7.86±3.97)muon-induced neutrons from an 820.28-day dataset at the first phase of CJPL(CJPL-I).Based on the muon-induced neutrons,we measured the corresponding muon-induced neutron yield in a liquid scintillator to be(3.44±1.86_(stat.)±0.76_(syst.))×10^(-4) μ^(-1)g^(-1)cm^(2) at an average muon energy of 340 GeV.We provided the first study for such neutron background at CJPL.A global fit including this measurement shows a power-law coefficient of(0.75±0.02) for the dependence of the neutron yield at the liquid scintillator on muon energy.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.41974064,42174076 and U1865206)Young Elite Scientists Sponsorship Program by CAST(No.2019QNRC001).
文摘Muon radiography is a promising technique for imaging the internal density structures of targets such as tunnels,pyramids,and volcanoes up to a scale of a few hundred meters by measuring the flux attenuation of cosmic ray muons after they have traveled through these targets.In this study,we conducted experimental muon radiography of one of the volcanoes in the Wudalianchi area in Northeast China to image its internal density structure.The muon detector used in this study was composed of plastic scintillators and silicon photomultipliers.After approximately one and a half months of observing the crater and conduit of the Laoheishan volcano cone in Wudalianchi from September 23^(rd) to November 10^(th) 2019,more than 3 million muon tracks fulfilling the data selection criteria were collected.Based on the muon samples and high-resolution topography obtained through aerial photogrammetry using an unmanned aerial vehicle,a density image of the Laoheishan volcano cone was constructed.The results obtained in this experiment demonstrate the feasibility of using a radiography technique based on plastic scintillator detectors.To obtain the density distribution,we performed a detailed background analysis and found that low-energy charged particles dominated the background noise.Relatively higher densities were found near the surface of the volcanic cone,whereas relatively lower densities were found near the center of the volcanic cone.The experiment in this study is the first volcano muon tomography study performed in China.Our work provides an important reference for future research.
文摘The apparent teleconnection between cosmic-ray muon flux over a base point in the Caribbean is discussed against the background of an extensive record of indices representing large-scale climatic phenomena, but limited cosmic-ray muon flux data. Many investigators have shown that large-scale climate phenomena influence sub-seasonal and seasonal climate variability, especially in the northern hemisphere and their impacts on the Caribbean are well documented. These climatic phenomena that impact the Caribbean include, but are not limited to, the El Nino Southern Oscillation, the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation, the North Atlantic Oscillation, and the Arctic Oscillation which is now being investigated. Although strong statistical correlation between variables over non-contiguous regions are not absolute as proof of teleconnections, the correlation strength can be used as an indication of its existence. The data gathered at the Mona Campus of the University of the West Indies, in Jamaica, using a simple QuarkNet 6000 muon detector over the period September 2011 to September 2013, showed an apparent significant relationship with these climatic indices. This suggests that cosmic-ray muon flux might be linked to the behavior of the climate phenomena and therefore can be used as a climate or meteorological index over the Caribbean.
文摘The Jamaican primary dry season extends from November-April with the driest period being January-March each year. Examination of the rainfall records over several decades reveal months that experienced a sharp increase in rainfall while sometimes they are drier than normal. During this dry season, some of the weather systems that impact the island significantly are cold fronts, highs pressure systems and troughs that migrate from the mainland USA. Major Sudden Stratospheric Warmings (SSW) occur routinely north of 60°N and severely impact weather over the North American continent. The islands of the Greater Antilles also experience inclement weather during this period as weather systems migrate southwards and impact the Caribbean. Severe winter weather due to the increase frequency and intensity of storms related to SSW events over North America is important to the Jamaican economy as tourists escape harsh winters by travelling to the island. Predicting the variability of rainfall during the primary dry season is therefore important as it has significant implications for event planning, tourism and agriculture. Cosmic-ray Muon flux has been found to be positively correlated with the atmospheric effective temperature used to indicate the occurrence of SSW events. Current research investigates the relationship between cosmic-ray Muon flux, SSW events and primary dry season rainfall. Our findings suggest that a significant change in rainfall occur over Jamaica during the primary dry season on average 29 days after the central date or on average 15 days after the SSW events end. Our study also suggests apparent similarities in the behaviour of cosmic-ray Muon flux over Jamaica to those when major SSW occurs at high latitudes. We therefore argue that the Muon detectors at low latitudes have practical use with respect to identifying SSWs and merits further study.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No. 10575059)the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (No. NCET-05-0060)the National Natural Science Foundation of China for Young Scholars (No. 10605015)
文摘Cosmic ray muon radiography which has good penetration ability and is sensitive to high-Z materials, is an effective method to detect shielded nuclear materials. This paper summarizes methods developed to process muon radiography in Tsinghua University. The methods include detector data correction, reconstruction algorithms （maximum likelihood scattering, MLS, and the maximum likelihood scattering and displacement, MLSD） acceleration, and the modification of the normalized mean absolute distance measure （NMADM） into a picture comparison binarization method （PCBM） which is more suitable for cosmic ray muon radiographs. Simulations demonstrate that all these methods give excellent results, so that cosmic muon radiography can become more widely used.
基金Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (10575046,10775062)Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University
文摘This paper studies the possibility of using the scattering of cosmic muons to identify threatening high-Z materials. Various scenarios of threat material detection are simulated with the Geant4 toolkit. PoCA （Point of Closest Approach） algorithm reconstructing muon track gives 3D radiography images of the target material. Z-discrimination capability, effects of the placement of high-Z materials, shielding materials inside the cargo, and spatial resolution of position sensitive detector for muon radiography are carefully studied. Our results show that a detector position resolution of 50 μm is good enough for shielded materials detection.
文摘Introduction Cosmic-ray muon imaging is a kind of nondestructive detection technology which can be used to detect unknown objects in geological exploration,civil engineering and nuclear safety.Transmission imaging and scattering tomography schemes are studied.Method The transmission scheme uses a multilayer detector to measure the direction of a cosmic-ray muon passing through an object.The scattering scheme involves placing two detectors upstream and downstream of the object to record the incident and exit directions of the muon passing through the object.The effect of the detector resolution on the imaging clarity of transmission imaging was studied.The applicable scenarios of the two schemes were analyzed.Results The results by calculating show that in the transmission imaging of a hundred-meter object,a spatial resolution of 2.5 m can be achieved,and Cu and Fe can be discriminated with a density difference of 1.1 g/cm3.Scattering tomography is mainly suitable for meter-level objects,which can detect 0.2 m chamber and distinguish 0.05 m heavy metal blocks in rock.
基金Supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(11620101004,11475093)the Key Laboratory of Particle&Radiation Imaging(Tsinghua University,the CAS Center for Excellence in Particle Physics(CCEPP),and Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation(2019A1515012216)Portion of this work performed at Brookhaven National Laboratory is supponted in part by the United States Department of Energy(DE-SC0012704)。
文摘China Jinping Underground Laboratory(CJPL)is ideal for studying solar,geo-,and supernova neutrinos.A precise measurement of the cosmic-ray background is essential in proceeding with R&D research for these MeV-scale neutrino experiments.Using a 1-ton prototype detector for the Jinping Neutrino Experiment(JNE),we detected 264 high-energy muon events from a 645.2-day dataset from the first phase of CJPL(CJPL-I),reconstructed their directions,and measured the cosmic-ray muon flux to be (3.53±0.22_stat.±0.07_sys.)×-10^(-10)cm^(-2).The observed angular distributions indicate the leakage of cosmic-ray muon background and agree with simulation data accounting for Jinping mountain's terrain.A survey of muon fluxes at different laboratory locations,considering both those situated under mountains and those down mine shafts,indicates that the flux at the former is generally a factor of (4±2) larger than at the latter,with the same vertical overburden.This study provides a convenient back-of-the-envelope estimation for the muon flux of an underground experiment.
基金Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (10675004, 10835001, 10491300, 10491303, 10735080)Research and Development Project of Important Scientific Equipment of CAS (H7292330S7)
文摘Cosmic-ray data of 90 M events have been collected and used for calibration,alignment as well as detector tuning. A special tracking algorithm for the BESⅢ muon counter is developed and verified with Monte-Carlo simulation and then further confirmed with the cosmic-ray data. The obtained strip resolutions are in good agreement with the design values. A new alignment approach for the BESⅢ muon counter is confirmed with the cosmic-ray data and proposed to be used in future analysis of experimental data.
基金Supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (11620101004,11475093,12127808)the Key Laboratory of Particle&Radiation Imaging(Tsinghua University)+2 种基金the CAS Center for Excellence in Particle Physics (CCEPP)Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation(2019A1515012216)Portion of this work performed at Brookhaven National Laboratory is supported in part by the United States Department of Energy (DESC0012704)。
文摘Solar,terrestrial,and supernova neutrino experiments are subject to muon-induced radioactive background.The China Jinping Underground Laboratory(CJPL),with its unique advantage of a 2400 m rock coverage and long distance from nuclear power plants,is ideal for MeV-scale neutrino experiments.Using a 1-ton prototype detector of the Jinping Neutrino Experiment(JNE),we detected 3 43 high-energy cosmic-ray muons and(7.86±3.97)muon-induced neutrons from an 820.28-day dataset at the first phase of CJPL(CJPL-I).Based on the muon-induced neutrons,we measured the corresponding muon-induced neutron yield in a liquid scintillator to be(3.44±1.86_(stat.)±0.76_(syst.))×10^(-4) μ^(-1)g^(-1)cm^(2) at an average muon energy of 340 GeV.We provided the first study for such neutron background at CJPL.A global fit including this measurement shows a power-law coefficient of(0.75±0.02) for the dependence of the neutron yield at the liquid scintillator on muon energy.
