Imaging internal density structure of the Laoheishan volcanic cone with cosmic ray muon radiography

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.

Study of imaging unknown objects by cosmic-ray muons

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.

Study of muon tomographic imaging for high-Z material detection with a Micromegas-based tracking system

Purpose To study the cosmic ray muon tomographic imaging of high-Z material with Micromegas-based tracking system.Method A high-spatial-resolution tracking system was set up with the micro-mesh gaseous structure(Micromegas)detec-tors in order to study the muon tomographic imaging technique.Six layers of 90 mm×90 mm one-dimensional readout Micromegas were used to construct a tracking system.Result and conclusion The imaging test using some metallic bars was performed with cosmic ray muons.A two-dimensional imaging of the test object was presented with a newly proposed ratio algorithm.The result of this work shows that the ratio algorithm is well performed.