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Muographers2023 - International workshop on muography
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Europe/Zurich
Naples
Naples
Centro Congressi Federico II Via Partenope, 36, 80121 Napoli NA
Giiulio Saracino
(Universita di Napoli Federico II (IT))
Description
Cosmic-ray muons, continuosly reaching the Earth soil with an almost constant and well known rate, are exploited as tool to probe the interior of large scale objects up to the kilometer scale. Muon radiography is reaching promising results in several applications where other thecniques are not suitable.
The International workshop on muography is a conference series, intended as an opportunity to share the knowledge and the most recent progresses within the muon radiography community and other interested scientists.
The scientific programme is divided in four application fields and general purpose tools and methods. Discover the related page to get more details.
The event provides plenary sessions and a poster session. The event will be in person. Instruction to registration and payment can be found here.
We warmly invite all the interested people to submit abstracts on both general overview or specific topics. The abstracts will be examinated by the International Advisor Committee and the decision will be communicated as soon as possible. Please submit as early as you can, to benefit the selection and organization process.
>>> New dead line for the proceedings submission ! <<<
October 30
The conference is organized and supported by:
in cooperation with
Participants
70
Contact
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Registration
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Introduction
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Underground applications and civil engineering
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1
Application of muography with nuclear emulsions for the observation inside levees
Nuclear emulsions with high positional resolution have long been used in particle physics experiments. In the field of muography, it has recently become known around the world as one of the techniques for imaging the inner structure of nuclear reactors and pyramids. We considered using nuclear emulsions which are compact, power-less, waterproof to observe the density distribution inside a levee for safety inspections of levees, since flooding associated with recent extreme weather events has caused levee failures and extensive damage to the surrounding population in Japan. In this presentation, we will report on the installation of nuclear emulsions inside a flume pipe, which began in the fall of 2021, and observations made throughout the year.
Speaker: Nobuko Kitagawa (Nagoya University (JP)) -
2
ChairSpeaker: Germano Bonomi (Universita di Brescia (IT))
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3
Upgraded portable muography detector for faster infrastructure measurement
We have developed a portable muography detector for internal infrastructure condition exploration and feasibility study for underground cavity detection [1]. The detector comprises two muon position sensitive detectors (mu-PSDs), with a detection area of 132 \times 132 mm$^2$ each. In a test measurement of a seven-story building from underground, we found this simple system could identify thick concrete walls and thick iron skins within two weeks. As a result, we have begun developing an upgraded detector for the next phase.
The detection concept of the second detector is similar to the first but has a four-fold larger detection area than that of the prototype. The mu-PSD is made up of scintillating fiber (BCF-10, Saint Gobain) connected to MPPC (S13360-3075CS, Hamamatsu). The data acquisition system consists of two EASIROC modules [2], driving a single mu-PSD. The coincidence events between the two modules are selected by a NIM coincidence module and saved in a front-end laptop.
A six-days open-sky measurement was conducted to measure the characteristics of the second detector. After atmospheric pressure correction, the average total event rate was 16354 counts per hour, with a standard deviation of only 74 counts, and the entire detection system is sufficiently stable enough for long-term measurement. Additionally, the detector measured lead blocks in the vertical direction to have a single pixel size on the resultant muography image with 5% absorption of cosmic-ray muons. The results showed that the detector has an angulare resolution of seven msr of angular resolution and the lead block absorbed 4.5$\pm$0.8% of the cosmic-ray muons which is in good agreement with the expected performance of the detector.[1] K. Chaiwongkhot et al., IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci. 65, 2316 (2018).
[2] I. Nakamura et al., Nucl. Instruments Methods Phys. Res. Sect. A Accel. Spectrometers, Detect. Assoc. Equip. 787, 376 (2015).Speaker: Prof. Tadahiro Kin (Kyushu University) -
4
Testing muography for subsurface geophysical surveys at the Lousal Mine
The LouMu collaboration was established between the Laboratory of Instrumentation and Experimental Particle Physics (LIP), the Institute of Earth Sciences (ICT) and the Ciência Viva Center of Lousal, to create the conditions for the use of muography as a novel method for subsurface geophysical surveys in Portugal, starting by an end-to-end test at the Lousal Mine. The exploitation of the Lousal Mine, located in the Iberian Pyrite Belt, ended in 1988 and it was then rehabilitated as the core of a science center. A 18 meter deep gallery was kept accessible, allowing the operation of a muon telescope. Detailed surveys of the gallery and surroundings were done to help establishing the muography targets and interpreting the first results. In April 2022 the muon telescope was installed at Lousal and soon obtained the image of the first geological target: the Corona fault crossing the gallery. The analysis proceeds with the development of the methods for translating these into local density maps and for combined inversion of muography with other datasets. The aim is not only to provide the best knowledge on Lousal, but also to prepare for other geophysical surveys.
Speaker: Sofia Andringa (LIP) -
5
Muon tomography of the Physics Department of the University of Coimbra
The LouMu collaboration started developing transmission muography in 2019 with a Resistive Plate Chambers detector built by LIP. In its first campaign, the detector acquired data at various positions of the Physics Department building of the University of Coimbra. There, the detector acquired data at various locations at the Physics Department building. At each of these, the detector’s efficiency was monitored and non-uniformities were corrected. To assess the quality of the images, they were compared with simulated muographs. For this simulation 3 main aspects were considered: the detector’s geometry, the model of the building and the conversion of matter traversed to transmission. The simulated and experimental transmission maps were in accordance. This, in turn, propelled the use of the 2D muographs for three-dimensional reconstruction of the building setting. The goal was, then, to retrieve information on the depth at which the observed structures were localized and what were their absolute dimensions.
Speaker: Magda Duarte (LIP, University of Minho) -
6
Muography of debris dams
We applied muography for inspecting rock-filled debris dams that are consolidating river basins and allowing erosion control and flood protection of mountainous areas. The mass density image of a debris dam in the Karasugawa river, Gunma, Japan was produced with a spatial resolution of 0.5 m × 0.5 m. The comparison of density data reconstructed by muography and gamma-ray logging suggest the internal deterioration of the dam in a region where cement released out from the embankment body.
Speaker: László Oláh (The University of Tokyo)
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1
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10:40
Coffee break
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Underground applications and civil engineering
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7
ChairSpeaker: Germano Bonomi (Universita di Brescia (IT))
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8
Muon Tomography for Detection of Dynamic Border Tunnels
Using muon tomography to detect tunnels has been suggested and studied with promising results. This work revisits the idea in the context of border tunnels with applications to drug interdiction and military intrusions. Unlike previous studies, this work considers the detection of border tunnels as they are being built with the goal of detecting tunnels before they cross the border. Various scenarios are fully explored with promising results.
Speaker: Daniel Snowden-Ifft -
9
3D muon-tomography of an underground crack zone - inversion methodology and validation by drills
A high resolution muography survey has been performed in the Királylaki tunnel in Budapest to search for unknown cavities. Preliminary radiographic measurements suggested large density anomalies above the tunnels in a 20--60 m thick cherty dolomite rock. Triangulation helped estimating the location and size of the anomalies, but for excavation, more precise information was needed.
A Bayesian inversion method has been adapted to overcome the underdetermination originating from limited-angle tomographic nature of muography, and it was verified by the muographic measurements and drill samples. A filtering is applied based on back-projected weights to control uncertainty propagation. Relevant Bayesian assumptions made the inverse sufficiently stable, and the stability has been tested by parameter sensitivity analysis and simulated case studies.
Measurements have been performed along a straight line due to the constraints of the tunnel system. Therefore, the underdetermination is reduced by slicing the space to planes intersecting the measurement line, and inversion simplified to 2D reconstructions on multiple tilting planes. The angular resolution of the CCC (Close Cathode Chamber) based gaseous muon detectors enabled a spatial voxel resolution of 1-2 meters, and the 3D distribution of previously unknown karstic crack zones has been obtained for the first time by muography.
The closest points of the density anomalies could be determined which was reachable by a simple core drill technique. Three 5--10 m long core drills validated the existence of the density anomalies. The core samples showed convincing agreement with the inversion, which didn't contain cavities but a low density fractured rock (altered dolomite powder). This result shows the potential of mapping underground crack zones with muography which has possible applications for tunnel construction and maintenance, or hillside-slip risk assessment, among others.
Speaker: Gábor Nyitrai (Wigner RCP, Hungarian Academy of Science) -
10
Muon imaging for Cu-Fe ore shoot identification: results and next challenges
Transmission-based muography (TM) is becoming an innovative and non-destructive imaging technique based on the measurement of the cosmic ray muon flux attenuation within the matter, allowing the reconstruction of 2D-3D transmission and density polar maps. The presented abstract introduces our latest results about the TM technique measurements we have carried out with the aim of ore bodies prospecting. The case study is the Temperino mine in the San Silvestro Archaeological and Mining Park (Campiglia Marittima, Italy). Here, several magmatic and metasomatic geological units outcrop. Among them, a Cu-Fe-Zn-Pb(-Ag) sulphide skarn complex primarily composed by hedenbergite and ilvaite minerals. The local enrichment in Cu-Fe minerals led to a continuous exploitation of the site for thousands of years. Several direct and destructive techniques were used to detect the enriched Cu-Fe ore shoots (high-density targets) within the skarn bodies. Therefore, not all the available minerals have been detected using these methods. Nowadays, muography can help to detect the location of the remaining ore shoots. The muon imaging method is establishing itself as a cheap and reliable support tool both to the other invasive and non-invasive survey methods in underground mining activities. Using the MIMA detector prototype (Muon Imaging for Mining and Archaeology; cubic detector of 0.5 x 0.5 x 0.5 m3). MIMA is a small and rugged muon tracker developed by physicists of the National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN) and the Department of Physics and Astronomy of Florence. The front-end electronics and DAQ of the MIMA detector were implemented on the knowledge and expertise of the MURAVES experiment (MUon RAdiography of VESuvius).
At the Temperino mine several high-density ore shoots has been identified, localized and interpreted. The results of our studies show the potential of muography in this research field.
There is also some issue to solve:
- To correctly estimate the errors within the muon imaging results;
- Find a way to make the installation of the tracker more rapid and easy;
- A priori understanding of the feasibility of the measurements (geological approach);
- To correctly plan the topographical and field survey to achieve a reliable muography campaign.Speaker: Tommaso Beni (National Institute for Nuclear Physics INFN, Division of Florence, Via Bruno Rossi 1, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; Department of Earth Sciences, University of Florence, Via Giorgio La Pira 4, 50121 Florence, Italy) -
11
Advancement on Tomographic Research of Underground and large STructures with Muographic Expertise project (TRUST-ME): first results
The TRUST-ME project is a new application of MUon Survey Tomography based on Micromegas detector for Unreachable Sites Technology (MUST²) to address a societal challenge of increasing importance: sustainable water management. To this end, a network of application-oriented muon trackers is being developed to both survey groundwater in aquifers and enhance the safety and operational efficiency of large structures, such as dams.
This innovative muon tracker, conceived by the Laboratoire Souterrain à Bas Bruit (LSBB), relies on a Micromegas readout plane with a thin time projection chamber [1]. The resulting compact, high field-of-view detector is able to operate in harsh environments with challenging access and deployment conditions. A network comprising a new generation of the detector is being developed within specially developed underground facilities at the LSBB.
Here, we present the context and objectives of the project. We introduce the functioning principles of the detector, and we detail the software and hardware upgrades of the new version. We discuss the technical challenges found while building and configuring the detector network. We present and discuss preliminary data acquired within LSBB (inside a large karstic reservoir) including the reconstruction of muon trajectories inside the detector and ongoing work towards temporal 3D imaging.
Speaker: Clement Antoine Risso (LSBB - Laboratoire Souterrain a Bas Bruit (FR))
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7
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12:50
Lunch break
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Industrial applications
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12
ChairSpeaker: Andrea Giammanco (Universite Catholique de Louvain (UCL) (BE))
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13
Imaging via Cosmic Muon Induced Secondaries
As cosmic muons traverse a target they interact with it (eg. bremsstrahlung,..) that induces a secondary radiation, whose spectra depends on the material-composition of the target. This imaging technique is sensitive to low-Z materials as well, opening a novel non-invasive material-identification method for medium-sized obscure targets.
Our Hungarian-Serbian collaboration pioneered in demonstrating experimentally this unique method, using gaseous trackers for the muons, and scintillator array and germanium for the secondaries. Results have proven imaging possibility ranging from metals to soft-tissue targets. Corresponding Geant4 simulations have counseled upgrades on forward-sideward asymmetry and sensitivity to the electron/gamma ratio. The former got materialized in a new experimental setup, with large-coverage segmented scinitallators arrays, and a compact and detailed DAQ, with electron-tagging possibility.
The presentation will describe the recent results in imaging via secondaries, discuss the visible limitations, and detail the new enhanced experimental setup, and its first results.
Speaker: Gergoe Hamar (Wigner Research Centre for Physics (Wigner RCP) (HU)) -
14
Muography instrumentation at the Wigner Research Centre for Physics
Muography is a rapidly expanding research field, its development boosted both by an emerging coherent research community as well as technology transfer towards professional end-users. Unlike the variety of applications, the measurement tool serves one purpose: efficient, reliable, sufficiently precise cosmic muon detection. The talk aims to give an overview of the instrumental challenges, based on examples by the Wigner RCP. This includes background suppression in case of low flux such as thick volcanoes or deep underground, or low-maintenance long term operation in challenging environmental conditions. It is remarkable to what extent the specific conditions demand very different detector configurations. Mining applications, as introduced during the talk, are of particular interest due to economic and social impact. Muons are not only absorbed, but get scattered and emit secondaries, which open up a broad range of new detection methods.
Speaker: Dezso Varga (Wigner Research Centre for Physics (Wigner RCP) (HU)) -
15
Water content in soils with muon radiography
Unconsolidated materials and soils have a general capability to absorb and retain fluids because of their porosity. Measuring this water content can be important for certain applications such as heap leaching.
Heap leaching is mineral processing technology wherein certain metals (e.g. Cu, Au, Ag..) are extracted from a stack of crushed mineral ore via chemical reactions initiated by a lixiviant or reagent fluid. This fluid is simply distributed at the top surface of the pile and let percolate through the stack. Industrial leaching operations at a mine site can achieve remarkable scales. Some leaching heaps are among the biggest structures ever built, reaching base areas of several km2 and elevations up to 100m.
In heap leaching, the determination of fluid content is a key parameter both for the productivity and the stability of the heap. Muon radiography offers a natural way to perform such a measurement directly in-situ and over large areas. In this talk, we will present results from the first in-situ fluid content determination performed by Muon Vision at an active leaching heap in Chile.
Speaker: Tancredi Botto
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12
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15:10
Coffee break
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Industrial applications
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16
ChairSpeaker: Andrea Giammanco (Universite Catholique de Louvain (UCL) (BE))
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17
The MUON CARGO project: maritime transport container and vehicle inspection by means of muon scattering tomography
The massive and growing global port trade demands efficient procedures and technologies to inspect in an automated way containers and vehicles where goods and materials are carried. The MUON CARGO project [1], co-financed by Puertos del Estado [2] (public business entity under the Spanish Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda), has been launched with the aim of complementing the already existing technologies in the field, adding new features, such as the detection through shielding, and the possibility of performing completely non-invasive and innocuous measurements. In this application case, the main threads are the presence of nuclear material, guns, and drugs, but even hidden people could be inside the cargoes. The project consist in the development of AI and scattering muography algorithms able to detect the aforementioned targets, on the basis of previous work [3], and also in the construction, commissioning and testing of a detection prototype of 9 m² made with multi-wire proportional chambers (MWPC). In this talk, in addition to the description of the progress of the project, preliminary simulation results will be shared. Through MUON CARGO, it is expected to obtain a significant improvement in the operation of container and vehicle inspection systems, helping the ports to perform this task in a more efficient and advanced manner.
[1] https://muon.systems/en/muoncargo
[2] https://www.puertos.es/es-es
[3] P. Martinez, A. Orio, C. Díez, and P. Garcıa, “Applications of Muography to the Industrial Sector”, Journal of Advanced Instrumentation in Science, vol. 2022, Apr. 2022.
Speaker: Aitor Orio Alonso (Muon Tomography Systems S.L. / Instituto de Fı́sica de Cantabria (IFCA) - Universidad de Cantabria) -
18
Experimental Momentum-binning for Muon Scattering Tomography
Muon scattering tomography is a novel cosmic muon imaging technique that exploits the multiple Coulomb-scattering of the cosmic muons.
Imaging and identification of enclosed high-Z materials become possible,
usable in large volume scanners. The proof of concept is supported via several simulation frameworks and experimental demonstartions.As the scattering angle strongly depends on the momentum of the muon,
using that information can enhance the imaging, and allow one to expand the identification capabilities towards lower-Z materials.We have constructed a muon-scattering experiment using good spatial resolution 80cm-size MWPCs, as multiple layer setup for precise tracking.
The basics of operation has been proved as mapping the scattering-strength in 2D/3D maps of targets with various size (from 1cm up) and materials (ranging from plastic to lead). The setup is equipped with additional scattering layers below the post-target tracking part, thus scattering on these known layers could indicate the momentum of the incoming muon. This novel method opens for momentum tagging and thus momentum-binned imaging; which has increased the discrimination-power between materials even in lower-Z region.The presentation will show details the experimental setup, display the imaging capabilites for various targets, and demonstrate its momentum-binned imaging.
Speakers: Mr Botond Csatlós (Wigner RCP), Gergoe Hamar (Wigner Research Centre for Physics (Wigner RCP) (HU)) -
19
Commercialisation of muon tomography for security inspection and Non-Destructive Testing with GScan’s technology
The natural flux of cosmic-ray muons impinges upon the Earth’s surface allows us to study the interior composition, density and obtain 3D-reconstructions of geological and human-made structures using muon detectors.
In this contribution, we describe the state-of-the-art muon tracking system developed by the company GScan in collaboration with our research partners. The detector system utilises orthogonally arranged scintillating fibres for detection and Silicon Photomultipliers for readout. The prototype has achieved an excellent spatial resolution of 120 μm and 1 mrad angular resolution in the track reconstruction, as well as demonstrated the ability to differentiate objects composed of low-Z materials. Furthermore, our detector system showed an excellent agreement between the Geant4 modelled and measured data.
The developed detector system has opened up new opportunities for commercial applications in the fields of security, customs and non-destructive testing (NDT), to name a few. This new technology offers numerous advantages over traditional inspection methods, including its ability to penetrate dense materials without harmful radiation whilst providing information about both the physical and chemical structure.
In this talk, we will discuss the current status of the GScan detector development, automated production and its applications towards security, customs and NDT scanner systems. In addition, we will present the results from the first tomographic measurements: spatial resolution, material classification power, etc.Speakers: Madis Kiisk (GSCAN OU & Tartu University), Märt Mägi (GSCAN OU), Olin Lyod Pinto (KBFI & GSCAN OU)
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16
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Round table
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Geoscience and Archaeology
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20
ChairSpeaker: Dr Cristina Carloganu (LPC/IN2P3/CNRS)
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21
The ScIDEP Project at the Egyptian Pyramid of Khafre
The ScIDEP (Scintillator Imaging Detector for the Egyptian Pyramids) Collaboration is constructing a new scintillator-based muon telescope to investigate the internal structure of the Pyramid of Khafre at the Giza Plateau in Egypt. This pyramid is only slightly smaller than the Great Pyramid, however its known internal structure seems much simpler compared to the latter and hence raises the question if there are any hidden rooms or structures that have yet to be discovered. The previous and very first muography campaign at this pyramid conducted by Alvarez et al. in the 1970s yielded no indications of any hidden structures.
The current project aims to install a new muon telescope inside the king’s burial chamber which is located at the very bottom of the pyramid, slightly off-center from the central axis. The base detector that has been developed consists of two 61x61x2cm3 plastic scintillator planes with wavelength shifting fibers embedded in orthogonal orientations in both faces of each scintillator, to retrieve 2D hit information from each plane for muon tracking. The scintillation light is read out by SiPMs connected to each individual fiber. The data-acquisition system is based on commercial CAEN Petiroc2A-ASIC based digitizer modules. The detector construction has recently been completed and commissioning of the setup in the lab is currently ongoing.
In parallel to the detector commissioning, a detailed simulation package for the full setup is being developed. The cosmic ray spectrum will be taken from the CRY generator, while the particle transport through the pyramid and the detector is modelled both in the Geant4 and MCNP packages.
An overview of this relatively new project will be given, including the detector description and initial results from its commissioning, plus results from the simulation studies.
Speaker: Michael Tytgat (Vrije Universiteit Brussel (BE)) -
22
Underground muography at Buda Castle
The Buda Castle is the largest underground muography project of Wigner Research Centre for Physics, and one of the major ones worldwide. The project has been running for more than four years, and we have about the same period until completion. The research area is the southern part of the hill of Buda Caste, Budapest, where the present castle and the partly buried ruins of the ancient ones are located.
The goal is to find every unknown underground void (caves and tunnels) which characteristic extent is larger than 2x2x2m3, as well as to find the zones with significantly lower density than the surrounding base rock (back-filled tunnels, rock debris zones, etc.). During the project we investigate the whole area which can be reached from the presently known underground facilities. Most of these facilities are in ideal depth, about 50m below the surface, and the corridor system available for measurements is dense enough to populate an appropriate measurement grid for making even 3D inversion for the uppermost 30m for almost the whole Castle area.
Thanks to the wide range of the excellent quality detectors developed and built by the Wigner RCP, we can measure with good efficiency even from places which are difficult to reach. Depending on the phase of the project the number of continuously used detectors varies between 2 to 5.
This presentation will introduce the project and the first results obtained by 3D triangulation and inversion algorithms based on several dozens of already completed measurement points.Speaker: Gergely Surányi (Wigner Research Centre for Physics, Budapest, Hungary) -
23
Near Surface muography studies and application to archaeology.
Archémuons is a collaborative project between the Institute of Physics of the 2 Infinities of Lyon (IP2I Lyon), the Laboratory of Geology of Lyon (LGL) and the Archéorient Laboratory. The three laboratories will perform surveys at the Palais de Mirroir of the Gallo Roman Museum of Vienne in France. The goal of the project is to evaluate how geology surveys (electric resistivity, gravimetry, seismometry) synergize with muon tomography for near surface underground studies. The foundation of the Palais de Miroir building and the surrounding extensive network of galleries provide a rich yet challenging set of targets to investigate. The controlled/confined environment provides opportunities to test different analysis and imaging techniques as well as new detector geometries, scintillation materials and a new portable prototype compact detector that combines Cherenkov detection with a scintillator based trajectograph which will be deployed and tested on site. In November 2022 the project kickstarted with an electric resistivity survey of the surface above the gallery where the muon detector will be hosted. In parallel a first set of measurements was acquired with a small scintillation detector as a proof of concept and for a first evaluation of the ground overburden. We will present the current status of this project as well as a preliminary result acquired by the time of the Muographers 2023 workshop.
Speaker: Theodore Avgitas (IP2I Lyon) -
24
Muographic study of the Palazzone necropolis (Perugia-Italy)
The muon radiography technique provides non-invasive imaging of the interior of large structures (targets) by exploiting the absorption properties of atmospheric muons in the materials. The absorption of muons depends not only on the thickness of the material but also on its density. Using this technique it’s possible, thanks to the comparison with simulations that take into account the known geometry of the target, to derive images of the average density of the structure under study. In this presentation we will show the preliminary results of a muon radiography measurement campaign, carried out at the archaeological site under study is the necropolis of Palazzone (Perugia-Italy), with the goal of searching for low-density anomalies attributable to unknown or unmapped tombs. The necropolis of Palazzone (Perugia-Italy), is an archaeological site dating back to the Etruscan period. This site, which has about 200 known tombs, is of enormous interest both from an archaeological point of view and from a geological and sedimentological point of view, thanks to the sedimentary sequence outcropping on the walls of the tombs that are directly visible. Thanks to this feature, this site can be classified as an "archaeo-geosite". The area identified for exploration by means of muon radiography is a portion of the necropolis not yet fully mapped, located just outside the tourist route. This area consists of two lithofacies with a general fining upward attitude: prevailing gravel conglomerates below and sand with conglomerate above. The measurement campaign carried out in 2022 had as its objectives, the identification and localization of a known tomb, with the possible discovery of new tombs, and the determination of the boundaries between the stratifications that are characterized by different average density values. The measurements were carried out with the MIMA (Muon Imaging for Mining and Archeology ) detector, a cubic-shaped muon tracker with an approximate size of (50x50x50) cm3 designed by our team. This work was supported by the INFN (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare), the University of Florence, the University of Perugia and the necropolis of Palazzone.
Speaker: Dr Diletta Borselli (University of Perugia, Department of Physics and Geology, Perugia, Italy; University of Florence, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Florence, Italy; INFN-FI, Florence, Italy) -
25
An advanced gaseous detector-based telescope for muography
Muography is being applied in a wide variety of areas, including applications in e.g. multidisciplinary research, industry, homeland security and society. A number of basic detector types have already been used for the construction of muon telescopes. Here, we investigate the usage and combination of advanced gaseous detector technologies to arrive at a high-performance muon telescope for muography. Given its robustness and ease of operation in remote outdoor environments, a scintillator-based muon telescope with silicon photomultiplier readout is being developed as a basic solution. To enhance the telescope performance in a number of ways, the use of multi-gap resistive plate chambers (mRPCs) and thick gas electron multipliers (THGEMs) is proposed. The excellent timing capabilities of mRPCs will be beneficial for detector background rejection, while the improved spatial resolution offered by THGEMs will enhance the muographic image resolution. The latter detectors are also very robust, easily manufacturable, and can be operated with a simple gas mixture. Currently, prototype detectors for each of these aforementioned systems have been constructed. In addition to the hardware efforts, a Geant4-based simulation of a generic four-plane detector is developed to optimize the telescope geometry and study the effectiveness of e.g. improved time information. The overall status of the ongoing activities, the results of the performance studies of the prototype detectors along with the results of the Geant4 simulation studies will be presented.
Speakers: Amrutha Samalan (Ghent University (BE)), Michael Tytgat (Vrije Universiteit Brussel (BE)), Yanwen Hong (Ghent University (BE))
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20
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10:40
Coffee break
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Geoscience and Archaeology
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26
ChairSpeaker: Dr Cristina Carloganu (LPC/IN2P3/CNRS)
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27
Muography of volcanic and atmospheric hazards at Sakurajima volcano, Japan
Sakurajima Muography Observatory (SMO) is a modular infrastructure that is operating with 14 muon tracking systems based on gaseous detectors [1] and scintillators [2]. The SMO is monitoring the mass density changes through the volcanic edifice and in the atmosphere at the Sakurajima volcano, Japan. We discuss the recent observational results. We observed mass changes on the surface regions of the volcanic edifice due to deposition and erosion of volcanic ejecta and by post-eruptive lahars [2,3]. We observed the evolution of magmatic plug beneath the active crater that helped to explain the link between eruption frequency and ground deformation [4]. The SMO captured atmospheric pressure drops caused by tropical cyclones and monitored the passages of different cyclones near Kagoshima [5]. We discuss the ongoing developments and future plans for next generation muography of volcanic and atmospheric hazards.
[1] Oláh, L., Tanaka, H.K.M., Ohminato, T. & Varga, D. High-definition and low-noise muography of the Sakurajima volcano with gaseous tracking detectors. Sci Rep 8, 3207 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-21423-9
[2] Tanaka, H.K.M. Development of the muographic tephra deposit monitoring system. Sci Rep 10, 14820 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-71902-1
[3] Oláh, L., Tanaka, H.K.M. & Hamar, G. Muographic monitoring of hydrogeomorphic changes induced by post-eruptive lahars and erosion of Sakurajima volcano. Sci Rep 11, 17729 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-96947-8
[4] Oláh, L. et al. Muon Imaging of Volcanic Conduit Explains Link Between Eruption Frequency and Ground Deformation. Geophys. Res. Lett. 50, e2022GL101170 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL101170
[5] Tanaka, H.K.M., et al. Atmospheric muography for imaging and monitoring tropic cyclones. Sci Rep 12, 16710 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-20039-4
Speaker: László Oláh (The University of Tokyo) -
28
Muography of Oman ophiolites
Oceanic lithosphere cycling produces critical resources to economy and governs the occurrence various natural hazards from earthquakes to volcanic eruptions. Only a small portion of the shallow lithosphere is explored. The physical nature and geological meaning of the upper and lower crust boundaries and Mohorovičić discontinuity (Moho) between the oceanic crust and mantle are not yet fully understood. Direct observations of oceanic crust were conducted in two oceanic drilling holes, however the Moho has not yet been reached [1]. Former Moho transition zones are exposed on land in numerous ophiolites around the world, thus the ophiolites are very important clue to understand the correlation between ocean crust-mantle structure and geology. The Oman ophiolites is the most promising analogue for oceanic lithosphere [2]. We will conduct muography of the Oman ophiolite to understand the density stratification of the oceanic crust to mantle, which regulates the geological structure of the oceanic crust to mantle. We discuss the scientific background, the simulation studies and the design of the muographic surveys.
[1] Koppers, A.A.P., Coggon, R. Exploring Earth by Scientific Ocean Drilling: 2050 Science Framework, 124 pp (2020) https://doi.org/10.6075/J0W66J9H
[2] Searle, M, Cox, J. Tectonic setting, origin, and obduction of the Oman ophiolite, GSA Bulletin, 111, 104-122 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1999)111<0104:TSOAOO>2.3.CO;2
Speaker: László Oláh (The University of Tokyo) -
29
Status and first results of the MURAVES campaign at Mt. Vesuvius
The MUon RAdiography of VESuvius (MURAVES) project aims at the study of Mt. Vesuvius, an active and hazardous volcano near Naples, Italy, with the use of muons freely and abundantly produced by cosmic rays. In particular, the MURAVES experiment intends to perform muographic imaging of the internal structure of the summit of Mt. Vesuvius. The challenging measurement of the rock density distribution in its summit by muography, in conjunction with data from other geophysical techniques, can help model possible eruption dynamics. The MURAVES apparatus consists of an array of three independent and identical muon trackers, with a total sensitive area of 3 square meters. In each tracker, a sequence of 4 XY tracking planes made of plastic scintillators is complemented by a 60 cm thick lead wall inserted between the two downstream planes to improve rejection of background from low energy muons. The apparatus is currently acquiring data. In this talk, preliminary results from the analysis of first data samples acquired with all three trackers hinting at possible anomalies in the density distribution will be presented.
Speakers: Andrea Giammanco (Universite Catholique de Louvain (UCL) (BE)), Samip Basnet (UCL - CP3) -
30
Lava dome rock strength estimation using 3-D muography at La Soufriere de Guadeloupe
The intense hydrothermal activity occurring at La Soufrière de Guadeloupe, French Lesser Antilles, is a major concern for volcanologists at the Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Guadeloupe and for the local population living nearby. Partly hosted within the andesitic lava dome, this hydrothermal system, continuously fueled with meteoric waters, is indeed responsible for both violent phreatic eruptions (the last major event occurred in 1976-1977), and fast rock alteration due to hot and acid fluid circulation, which worsens the risk of a partial volcano flank collapse.
Since the early 2010s, the deployment of scintillator-based muon telescopes built in IP2I, Lyon, to perform imaging of the lava dome structure has allowed increasing the knowledge of the hydrothermal system dynamics.
Here we will present the preliminary results of muon data analysis recorded in four detectors around the lava dome between 2015 and 2019 ($3.10^7$ events in total). The muography data were processed using a RANSAC method that mitigates the impact of random noise and contamination from secondary particles while improving the muon reconstruction efficiency compared to previous processing.
For this analysis, we have also attached importance to the estimation of the irreducible low-energy muons (so-called "soft" muons) background on the obtained density estimates using dedicated GEANT4 simulation. This uncertainty estimation constitutes a precious input to muography data inversion, allowing better-constrained estimates of the lava dome density. We highlight that this is the first time that such an amount of muography data is inverted at La Soufière. The result of this three-dimensional density modeling of the lava dome is then interpreted in terms of rock strength, using an empirical rock strength-bulk density law obtained from laboratory measurements on hydrothermally-altered samples. This modeling of the dome highlights the low-strength zone in the southern zone, consistent with the current state of knowledge acquired through geophysical surveys (e.g electrical tomography) on the hydrothermal activity at La Soufriere.Speaker: Mr Raphaël Bajou
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26
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12:30
Lunch break
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Geoscience and Archaeology
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31
ChairSpeaker: Dezso Varga (Wigner Research Centre for Physics (Wigner RCP) (HU))
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32
Mapping water on the Moon and Mars using GScan tracker system
The search for water on the lunar and martian surfaces is a crucial aspect of space exploration, aiding further understanding the history and evolution of these planetary bodies. However, our understanding of the distribution and concentration of these resources on the lunar and martian surfaces is limited. Moreover, we lack detailed data on the origin and migration of lunar and martian water.
The natural flux of cosmic-ray muons, which penetrates the planetary surface, can be used to study the water-ice content, composition and density of lunar and martian surfaces.
In this poster, we present a novel approach aimed at addressing these knowledge gaps with cosmic-ray muon detectors using backscattered radiation. We describe a state-of-the-art muon tracking system developed by GScan and our research partners. We will present the highlights of our preliminary simulations using GEANT4, suggesting that muon tomography could be an effective tool for investigating water ice content in lunar and martian environments.Speaker: Dr Olin Lyod Pinto (KBFI & GSCAN OU) -
33
Muography with nuclear emulsions developed at Nagoya University
We have been developing muographic techniques with nuclear emulsions. Nuclear emulsions are lightweight, compact, and do not require a power supply. They are excellent for muography because they can be inserted into the interior of pyramids and other archaeological sites and boreholes, and can be used for large-area and multi-point observations for three-dimensional visualization.
Currently, ScanPyramids is investigating the pyramid of Khufu and Khafre in Egypt. In this project, detailed analysis of the discovered void for the Pyramid of Khufu and 360-degree exploration, including areas not visualized by Alvarez, are being conducted for the Pyramid of Khafre. Our project is also being applied to subsurface cavity investigation techniques, and is developing the world's smallest and highest resolution detector that can be inserted into boreholes with a diameter of 10 cm or less, which is a common borehole diameter. We are also developing a new imaging technique to image the interior of living trees as a thinner target, and are expanding the technique to tree diagnostic technology. In this presentation, the research activities of our group at Nagoya University, including archaeological site surveys, subsurface structural exploration, and tree diagnostics, will be presented.Speaker: Dr Kunihiro Morishima (Nagoya University) -
34
Hidden chamber discovery in the underground Hellenistic necropolis of Neapolis by muography
We report muography of an archaeological site located in the highly populated “Sanità” district in the center of Naples, ten meters below the current street level. Several detectors capable of detecting muons were installed underground at the depth of 18 m, to measure the muon flux over several weeks. By measuring the differential flux with our detectors in a wide angular range, we have produced a radiographic image of the upper layers. Despite the architectural complexity of the site, we have clearly observed the known structures as well as a few unknown ones. One of the observed new structures is compatible with the existence of a hidden, currently inaccessible, burial chamber.
Speaker: Valeri Tioukov (Universita e INFN sezione di Napoli (IT))
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31
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15:00
Coffee break
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General purpose tools and methods
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35
ChairSpeaker: Dezso Varga (Wigner Research Centre for Physics (Wigner RCP) (HU))
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36
Simulation Tools for the MURAVES Experiment
The MUon RAdiography of Mt. VESuvius (MURAVES) project aims to probe the internal structure of the summit of Mt. Vesuvius. The setup of the MURAVES detector consists of three identical and independent tracking hodoscopes, made of scintillator bars coupled to SiPM. The analyses often rely on simulation based predictions, in our case for a better comparison between the data and different density hypotheses, and for the optimization of the reconstruction algorithms, as well as to estimate backgrounds.
The workflow of the simulation chain of the MURAVES experiment is introduced. For the generation of cosmic ray showers, a systematic comparison of particle generators, including CORSIKA, CRY and EcoMug, has been conducted. Study of the muon propagation through the rock is performed. The expected transmitted muon flux through Mt. Vesuvius is simulated with the Backward Monte Carlo muon transport library PUMAS and the parametric Monte Carlo simulator MUSIC. The simulation of the response of the detectors is developed using Geant4. In order to compare with the real data, the raw hits in Geant4 are converted into clusters through a simulated digitization process, followed by dedicated clustering algorithms and thresholds as well as the tracking methods as performed in real data analysis. First results of a simulation vs. data comparison will be presented.Speaker: Yanwen Hong (Ghent University (BE)) -
37
Parameterizing cosmogenic neutron flux to measure soil moisture
Cosmic rays interacting with the Earth's atmosphere generate cosmogenic neutrons, which subsequently interact with hydrogen in the atmosphere and soil to create epithermal neutrons with energies in the KeV range. The production of these particles is inversely proportional to soil hydrogen content. Cosmic Ray Neutron Sensors (CRNS) use this natural phenomenon to monitor soil moisture levels, providing valuable information for improving irrigation systems in agriculture and studying environmental behaviour.
Currently, CNRS calibration relies on fast simulations based on models of cosmic ray flux and their interaction with moist soil. However, these models fail to incorporate critical environmental variables such as altitude, geomagnetic field, and detector site atmosphere. In this study, we employ Monte Carlo simulations using Fluka and Geant4 to demonstrate the relationship between neutrons and environmental variables. This approach provides a tool for refining detector calibration at any geographical location.
Speaker: Christian Sarmiento-Cano (Universidad Industrial de Santander) -
38
Update on EcoMug cosmic-ray muon generator
EcoMug is a Monte Carlo generator of cosmic-ray muons, specifically designed for muon radiography and tomography applications. It is a header-only C++11 library, based on a parametrization of experimental data and, unlike other tools, gives the possibility of generating from different surfaces (plane, cylinder and half-sphere), while keeping the correct angular and momentum distribution of generated tracks. Since its initial release, it has been used by several groups, mainly in the field of muography, and some improvements have been requested. In this talk we present a major update of EcoMug with several new features, including the estimation of the time necessary to collect the generated number of muons (even in presence of custom cuts on their momentum and/or angular distributions), the explicit specification of the units of measurement (like in GEANT4), a new tool for the generation of background events, and much more. An overview of all these improvements will be given, together with examples of their usage.
Speaker: Prof. Davide Pagano (Universita di Brescia (IT)) -
39
MUYSC: An end-to-end muography simulation framework
Muography solves density distributions of geological or anthropic structures by analyzing muon flux attenuation. Several composite simulation frameworks carry out muography feasibility studies for specific targets. Those methodologies use diverse codes such as CORSIKA, CRY, MUSIC, and GEANT4, increasing computing time and simulation complexity till precision orders higher than needed.
We present the end-to-end python-based MUographY Simulation Code (MUYSC). MUYSC deploys a user-friendly muography simulation framework for making muograms of any geological structure in a few minutes, calculating muon telescope parameters (acceptance and angular resolution), observation times, and reconstructing 3-dimensional density distributions. MUYSC performance was evaluated by reproducing the results of composite simulation frameworks.
Speaker: Dr Jesus Peña-Rodríguez (Bergische Universität Wuppertal, Universidad Industrial de Santander) -
40
Compact muon sources based on laser-plasma accelerators
Laser plasma accelerators (LPAs) were proposed 50 years ago as a compact alternative to radio-frequency technology. In an LPA, an intense laser pulse travels through a plasma and excites a plasma wave traveling behind it. LPAs can sustain acceleration gradients beyond 100 GV/m - thousands of times higher than conventional accelerator technology, allowing reducing the size of the machine by similar amounts. LPAs have evolved from the initial concept to machines delivering nearly 10 GeV energy gains in tens of centimetres and operating for extended periods of time with high repeatability.
LPA is an ideal candidate to develop a compact muon source due to availability of GeV beams from metre-scale setups. In an LPA-driven source, muon pairs are produced by energetic bremstrahlung photons in the strong field of heavy nuclei, resulting in an inherently collimated, low emittance and ultrashort pulse duration muon beam. Using currently widely used and available laser systems would enable constructing a source with an average flux of the order of 1000 muons per second. I will discuss the physics and progress of LPAs along with the scaling of the generated muon beam, highlighting the potential of this novel accelerator technology for generating compact, portable muon sources.Speaker: Kristjan Põder (Deutsches Elektronen Synchtrotron DESY)
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35
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Round table
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General purpose tools and methods
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41
ChairSpeaker: Michael Tytgat (Ghent University (BE))
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42
TomOpt: Muon Tomography experiment optimization
The TomOpt software has been developed to optimize the geometrical layout
and specifications of detectors designed for muon scattering tomography.
Based on differentiable programming techniques, TomOpt consists in a modular pipeline that models all the aspects of a muon tomography task, from the generation and interaction of cosmic ray muons with a parameterized detector and passive material, to the inference on the volume properties. This enables the optimization of the detector parameters via gradient descent, to suggest optimal detector configurations and specifications. The geometry optimization will be studied for several relevant use case subject to various external constraints such as cost, logistic and material identification efficiency.Speaker: Mr Maxime Lagrange (Université Catholique de Louvain) -
43
Suppressing low energy background in the mMOS detector system with machine learning
The MWPC-tracking based MOS (Muography Observation System), consisting of
tracking chambers and lead absorbers has been simulated in a very detailed
way in Geant4, with emphasis on all relevant physics phenomena and
including the effect of the read out electronics. The simulation results
were processed with the tracking algorithm dedicated and used for the
actual detector system.It was found that the tracking efficiently suppresses low energy (< 0.5
GeV) muons while offering ( >95 %) tracking efficiency for the medium
energy range (5-100 GeV). The efficiency drops for >100 GeV due to
showers. The presentation will discuss these effects.To further suppress low energy background muons, a neural network based
machine learning algorithm is currently being developed. The
machine learning algorithm is trained on the output of the simulation.
The talk will demonstrate how such algorithm can aid background
suppression in muography, and which are the requirements on the
sufficiently detailed simulation output. The ML algorithm is applied to
real data and the reliability of such a physics result is critically
assessed.Speaker: Gábor Galgóczi (Wigner RCP) -
44
Use of Generative Adversarial Neural networks in muography
Many muon imaging algorithms require large amounts of simulated data to infer the densities and geometries of the objects under study. A typical muography simulation can be factorized in three different aspects: simulation of the initial muon flux, simulation of the propagation of the muons through matter, and simulation of the detector response. In this work we present how Generative Adversarial Neural networks can be used to replace each of these simulation stages in a fast but still realistic way. We will show how these networks are able to interpolate new geometries never provided in the training phase. Results are applied to several cases of scattering muography applied to the industrial sector.
Speaker: Pablo Martinez Ruiz Del Arbol (Universidad de Cantabria and CSIC (ES))
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41
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10:20
Coffee break
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General purpose tools and methods
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45
ChairSpeaker: Michael Tytgat (Ghent University (BE))
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46
Investigation of the Impact of Magnetic Fields on Scattering Muography Images
Muography is a technique that uses cosmic-ray muons to probe the internal structure of objects. Muons are elementary particles that are naturally produced at high energy by the interaction of cosmic rays with the Earth's atmosphere. Two imaging methods, respectively based on the absorption and scattering of muons, have been developed to exploit cosmic-ray muons in a wide range of applications such as volcanology, archaeology, mining, nuclear waste investigations, and material identification surveys. In this study, we focused on the effect of magnetic fields on scanning systems based on scattering muography, where muons can penetrate steel up to 100 cm thick and detect any shielded high-z material. We used the PHITS Monte Carlo code, which is a powerful tool for the simulation of the passage of particles through matter and can also be used to implement various magnetic fields. Cosmic-ray muons have been generated based on the PARMA model. The inspection system used in this study consisted of two 3 m x 6 m detector sets placed above and below the region of interest to be capable of scanning a cargo container in several minutes. The main challenge in systems based on multiple scattering of muons is to estimate the scattering angle and position of the target by reconstructing muon tracks. We used the Point of Closest Approach (POCA) reconstruction algorithm to obtain the muography images of the objects in the inspection area. We then placed a simple dipole magnetic field in the inspection area to investigate how the magnetic field affects the muography images. Results from the study quantify the blurring effect on the obtained image, depending on the strength of the magnetic flux density and the density of the material.
Speaker: Hamid Basiri (Kyushu University) -
47
B2G4: Integrating 3D Blender models in Geant4 simulations for synthetic muography data generation
Particle simulation software allows physicists to simulate the interactions of particles with matter at atomic and subatomic levels, providing means to study these interactions in a diverse range of scenarios and environments. Geant4 is one the most prominent toolkit for high-energy physics simulations, which can deal with particle transport through a wide range of materials for most standard model particles as well as simulate the subsequent detector response. Yet, one of the current limitations of Geant4 is its ability to create complex simulation geometries. Creating these geometries requires a significant amount of manual input, which can be time-consuming and error-prone.
This work presents Blender2Geant4 (B2G4), a novel synthetic data workflow that translates visually generated 3D scenes in Blender to Geant4. B2G4 is built on the premise that Blender allows users to create sophisticated 3D scenes, which can then be exported as a geometry input for the Geant4 framework. The proposed B2G4 workflow uses the powerful modeling tools in Blender to position objects intuitively, construct layered objects, and assign realistic material properties that are compatible with Geant4. Further, the properties of each object, such as position or shape, can be modified and tailored to the simulation at hand using the randomization tools available in Blender. Additionally, B2G4 offers a range of tools to perform structural geometry checks to generate more realistic scenarios and improve the quality of the simulations. The included scripts and bindings in B2G4 allow for faster iteration on different simulation scenarios with Geant4, making it an efficient and effective approach to real-world scenarios.
An emergent application of cosmic ray tomography is identifying potential threats for security domains such as borders or port facilities. Albeit deep neural networks can be trained to detect anomalies, the difficulty of acquiring real muography data and ground truth annotations remains the main limitation in the security domain. The applicability of B2G4 is demonstrated with the generation of complex scenes relevant to the security domain: with minimal manual coding, B2G4 enables the creation of a large volume of muography data based on feedback from customs authorities. The generated scenes demonstrate that B2G4 is a valuable framework for synthetic data generation, particularly when real muography data is unavailable or challenging to obtain.
Speaker: Angel Bueno (German Aerospace Center (DLR), Bremerhaven) -
48
Small-area portable resistive plate chambers for muography
Muography is increasingly applied in many applications, e.g. volcanology, archaeology, civil engineering, industry, mining, nuclear waste surveys, etc. For such applications, muon telescopes need to be installed in remote locations addressing extreme environmental conditions. To reduce the complexities during transportation and re-installation at the experimental site after the calibration and testing at the laboratory, we have been carrying out R&D activities for developing a fully portable muon telescope based on Resistive Plate Chambers. Two glass-RPC based prototype detectors, with varying detector parameters such as active area, gas-gap, and surface resistivity of the electrodes, have already been developed and comparison studies of the prototypes are ongoing. Benefiting from the experience gained in building and operating the prototypes, a double gap RPC is designed and being constructed with a more advanced technical layout and improved spatial resolution and a bakelite-RPC prototype is also under development to study and compare the electrode properties. A manual coating method is implemented to construct the resistive electrodes and a new readout board (V.4.0) has been developed for the data acquisition, which is now in the calibration phase. Next to the hardware efforts, a CRY-Geant4 based simulation framework for the telescope is already developed and running. A simulation study using Garfield++ is also being conducted in parallel to complete the full simulation chain and to tune the hardware parameters. This also includes studying the ionisation and avalanche properties of different eco-friendly gas mixtures that are considered possible alternatives for the standard Freon-based RPC mixtures. The results of the performance studies of the two prototype detectors, comparison results of the existing readout boards with the new version, technical layout and status of the new double gap and bakelite RPCs, and the results of the simulation studies will be presented.
Speaker: Amrutha Samalan (Ghent University (BE)) -
49
Scintillator based muography applications in IFIN-HHSpeaker: Denis Stanca
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50
Object shape and size reconstruction for scintillator strip detectorsSpeaker: Alexandru Gherghel-Lascu (IFIN-HH Bucharest)
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45
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13:00
Lunch break
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Nuclear waste characterization and safeguards
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51
ChairSpeaker: Dr Luigi Cimmino
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52
Muon tomography for re-verification of spent fuel casks (the MUTOMCA project)
The MUTOMCA (MUon TOMography for shielding CAsks) project investigates the suitability of muon tomography for the re-verification of spent fuel casks.
Spent fuel casks are stored, for decades, in dedicated locations and are under constant surveillance by the international agencies Euratom and IAEA through unattended monitoring equipment. In the hypothetical case that these instruments would temporarily fail, thus leading to a loss of Continuity of Knowledge (CoK), a re-verification of the spent fuel enclosed in self-shielding casks would be required.
The re-verification is particularly challenging for conventional non-destructive-assay (NDA) methods, since thick-walled spent fuel casks considerably attenuate the radiation emitted by the spent fuel. On the other hand, the inspectorates need a high degree of assurance on the amounts of nuclear material stored in those casks.
With the aim of proving the ability of muon tomography to detect a diversion of fuel assemblies in closed spent fuel casks, two muon detectors were designed, developed, constructed and commissioned. The detectors, which are based on drift tube technology, have been used, during the first months of 2023, in a field trial at a dry storage facility in Germany to examine a CASTOR®V/19 cask. Preliminary results will be presented along with the potentials and the drawbacks of the experimental apparatus.
The MUTOMCA research project was established by INFN Padova and Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH (FZJ) in collaboration with BGZ Company for Interim Storage (BGZ Gesellschaft für Zwischenlagerung mbH) and the European Commission, Directorate-General for Energy.Speaker: Germano Bonomi (Universita di Brescia (IT)) -
53
Stand-alone cosmic-ray tomography with secondary particles
Cosmic ray tomography usually focusses on two key approaches: muon transmission and muon scattering tomography. Secondary particles produced from the interaction of air shower particles with the target material have not been fully exploited so far, although they have been proven to carry complementary information directly related to the target material properties. Previous work [1] showed a novel approach utilizing only the information from secondary particles to successfully reconstruct and discriminate a variety of materials in the context of a shipping container scanner with an optimal detector setup and background-free environment.
This work builds on Ref. [1], taking into consideration realistic detector parameters and investigating their impact on material reconstruction and discrimination methods. A possible detector setup is discussed, allowing the reconstruction of muons and secondary particles from different energy regimes. Three key detector parameters, mainly the detection efficiency, the spatial resolution and the spacing between the detector layers, are varied with the aim of validating the approach discussed in Ref. [1] in a more realistic scenario.
[1] Pérez Prada, M.; Barnes, S.; Stephan, M. Analysis of Secondary Particles as a Compliment to Muon Scattering Measurements. Instruments 2022, 6, 66. https://doi.org/10.3390/instruments6040066
Speaker: Maximilian Perez Prada (German Aerospace Center (DLR), Bremerhaven) -
54
Muography Activities at CEA: New adavances in nuclear surveilance
Since the beginning of their activities in 2015, the muography group of the Institute for Research on the Fundamental Laws of the Universe (IRFU-CEA-France) has been continuously evolving their muon telescopes (based on micromegas detectors) as well as their analysis methods. This allowed the performance of different experiments, going from civil engineering to archaeology, including the nuclear domain. It s in the latter topic where the activities have been more focused in the last years. Among them, the surveillance of nuclear reactors before its dismantling or the characterization of nuclear waste containers stand up.
In this talk a summary of IRFU's muography activities will be presented, summarizing the latest advances on the instrumentation of the used muon telescopes and emphasizing latest results of performed experiments, specially those related to Nuclear domain. This includes the characterization of a Nuclear Reactor before its dismantling, for which a validation of the inner structure with respect to the existing models has been done as well as the first 3D muon tomography ever made for such a big object. Moreover prospects of new projects on Nuclear Reactor surveillance and Nuclear Waste containers control will be also presented.
Speaker: Hector Gomez Maluenda (Université Paris-Saclay (FR)) -
55
Recent Developments in the Application of Cosmic-Ray Muons to Nuclear Security and Safeguards at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories
Throughout the past decade, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) has gained considerable expertise in the development of muon tomography techniques and algorithms for applications in nuclear waste management and safeguards verification. Two prototype muon detectors have been constructed at CNL’s Chalk River site: the Cosmic Ray Inspection and Passive Tomography (CRIPT) detector, a unique muon tomography prototype with the ability to measure muon momenta; and the Muon Portable Imager for Counter-terrorism (MuPIC), a compact portable muon tomography system for field use that is still undergoing preliminary testing and development. Algorithm development has included imaging algorithms for muon scattering tomography (MST) and attenuation-based muon computed tomography (muCT), as well as a non-parametric dense object detection (NPDOD) algorithm. These techniques have applications in imaging fuel storage containers, characterizing legacy waste or lost-knowledge casks, dense-object detection in support of nuclear disarmament, and imaging large nuclear infrastructure (such as a reactor core or fuel repository).
A brief review of CNL detector and algorithm capabilities will be presented, as well as preliminary results from recent experimental studies with MuPIC. Field tests using the portable detector have been used to assess MuPIC’s capabilities in conjunction with CNL’s MST imaging and NPDOD algorithms, and can be compared with CRIPT capabilities. In addition, muon flux measurements taken in CNL’s ZED-2 reactor facility have been used to provide a first stage of experimental validation for CNL’s muCT imaging algorithm.
Speaker: D. Pérez-Loureiro
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51
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15:20
Coffee break
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Nuclear waste characterization and safeguards
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56
ChairSpeaker: Dr Luigi Cimmino
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57
Simulation of a cosmic ray tomography scanner for trucks and sea containers.
The SilentBorder project aims to develop and construct a new high-technology cosmic ray tomography (CRT) scanner for identification of hazardous and illegal goods hidden in trucks and sea containers. The scanner is based on natural cosmic ray tomography technology that is inherently safe for people and will enable scanning of shipping containers or cargo. We report on the development of the simulation and reconstruction framework aimed at optimizing the geometry of the detector and exploring feasibility of CRT in real smuggling scenarios using simulated data. The framework includes GEANT4 modeling of light transport in a scintillating-fiber tracker to optimize the geometry and materials used to produce fiber mats, as well as to convert raw Geant4 hits in scintillating fibers into clusters through a digitization process to develop track reconstruction algorithms. A systematic comparison was made of particle generators such as CRY, MUSIBO and EcoMug interfaced to the GEANT4 toolkit to find the most effective one for modelling real smuggling scenarios. The Point of Closest Approach reconstruction algorithm was used to create 3D images of sea containers or trucks to perform accurate analysis of the constraints on sensitivity of CRT using simulated synthetic data generated for different smuggling scenarios of low-Z organic materials and high-Z inorganic materials contraband. Results of our research indicate that by using cosmic-ray tomography, it would be possible to improve the performance and sensitivity of sea container and cargo screening systems to overcome limitations of traditional screening methods, such as X-ray scanners, when it comes to detecting illicit materials that may be well-concealed. Cosmic-ray tomography can provide a complementary imaging technique that could enhance the detection capabilities of existing systems.
Speaker: Dr Anzori Georgadze (Kiev Institute for Nuclear Research) -
58
Muons for Peace: Using muography to verify the absence of nuclear weapons.
As of 2023, global nuclear weapon arsenals comprise approx. 13,000 warheads. Despite the renewed arms race among the nuclear weapon owners, it is the declared goal of many nations to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons. While this is first a political task, technical research can support the goal by providing technical verification approaches for future international treaties. An ongoing challenge in this regard is the detection of fissile material – the key component of nuclear weapons – from a distance. The International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification, a network of technical experts from 25 states, has listed that challenge as a technology gap.
Currently discussed methods to detect fissile material are based on particles resulting from its radioactive decay (gammas, neutrons), which can be easily shielded. To overcome this limitation, we propose a new measurement approach, transmission-based muography. Using a muon telescope, we want to detect fissile material from a distance in large structures (10-100 m size), e.g. storage bunkers. So far, most applications of muography in nuclear security are scattering-based measurements, which require two detectors on both sides of the object of interest. However, transmission-based muography, requiring only one detector, allows to examine also larger structures.
Our contribution will outline potential application scenarios and details of the approach to find hidden significant quantities of plutonium or highly-enriched uranium. Additionally, we show simulation results illustrating necessary detector properties and calculate required measurement times.Speaker: Alexandra Datz (Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University Hamburg; University of Hamburg) -
59
Imaging military nuclear reactors with GScan’s detector system
Atmospheric ray tomography (ART) applies muons and electrons for imaging the 3D density and atomic composition of the scanned objects. In this talk, we will describe an industrial prototype system for ART-based technology developed by the company GScan. The prototype uses plastic scintillating fibre arrays achieving the spatial resolution 120 μm and 1 mrad angular resolution in the track reconstruction with a rather compact and lightweight design. The system is based on laboratory proof-of-concept described in an earlier study. We will explain the key components of the developed production technology of the detectors.
In this talk, we will present the results of 3D imaging of two out-of-use military (submarine) nuclear reactors using the GScan-developed detector systems. The total scanned volume is relatively large and complex: the submarine sections containing the reactors, machinery and filling material are 7 to 9 metres in their diameter.
Firstly, we will show the results of the numerical Geant4 modelling and in-house tests which have demonstrated the ability to achieve 10 cm spatial resolution in a reasonable amount of time. Secondly, we will present the results of the field measurements at the reactor site. In addition we will compare the physical results against the numerical ones.
Speakers: Märt Mägi (GScan OU), Madis Kiisk (GScan OU & Tartu University), Andi Hektor (GScan OU & KBFI, Tallinn)
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56
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Round table
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Transfer by bus to Vesuvius (departure from the congress venue in via partenope)
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Visit to Vesuvius crater Osservatorio Vesuviano
Osservatorio Vesuviano
Colle Umberto, Contrada Osservatorio, 19, 80056 Ercolano NA -
12:30
Lunch break Osservatorio Vesuviano
Osservatorio Vesuviano
Colle Umberto, Contrada Osservatorio, 19, 80056 Ercolano NA -
Talk about the Vesuvius Osservatorio Vesuviano
Osservatorio Vesuviano
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The Mt VesuviusSpeaker: Dr Mauro Antonio Di Vito (INGV-Osservatorio Vesuviano)
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The study of volcanoes with muographySpeaker: Dr Cristina Carloganu (LPC/IN2P3/CNRS)
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60
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Visit to the Observatory Museum Osservatorio Vesuviano
Osservatorio Vesuviano
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Return to Naples
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