Muography is a novel imaging technology to reveal density structure of hill-sized objects. The cosmic muons predictably lose their energy and penetrate hundreds of meters into the ground, thus their differential local flux correlates with the crossed density-length.
The Sakurajima Muography Observatory in Kagoshima, Japan, is the largest muography experiment targeting an active volcano.
A...
Muon Scattering Tomography is a major non-destructive technique to discriminate materials by finding deviation in muon tracks which depends on atomic number (Z) and density (⍴) of the target material. Based on scattering parameters obtained from Geant4 simulation, a Pattern Recognition Method has been devised which is able to distinguish high-Z and low-Z materials with more than 5𝜎 accuracy...
Radioisotopes for theranostics are essential for nuclear medicine developments. Their production using solid target stations is challenging and new instruments and methods derived from particle physics are needed. A research program is ongoing at the 18 MeV Bern medical cyclotron, equipped with a solid target station and a 6 m long Beam Transfer Line ending in a separate bunker. To bombard...
In muon scattering tomography, the investigated materials are discriminated according to the scattering angle that mainly depends on the atomic number, the density, and the thickness of the medium at a given energy value. The scattering angles at different initial energies also provide the opportunity to classify the incoming muons into a number of energy groups. In this study, by employing...
The tracking detectors of particle physics are facing new demands in applied physics. Muography is in highlight, where tracking of cosmic muons could reveal the inner structures of geological or archaeological objects. The dedicated R&D shall focus on portability, robustness against outdoor conditions, low consumption, high tracking efficiency, and cost efficiency. A practical choice is...
Low-energy cyclotrons are in use worldwide to produce medical isotopes for nuclear medicine. Beam monitoring during the irradiation of targets is difficult due to the high-power density of low-energy protons, space limitations and interference with the beam delivery. Doped silica fibers are sensitive to ionizing radiation, and produce radiation induced luminescence (RIL) when exposed. The...
We developed a stand-alone DAQ and FEE for low power consumption and outdoor applications. The system can work autonomously thanks to dedicated algorithms implemented in a embedded system. The FEE, based on the EASIROC chip that gives the readout of Silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs), digitizes the amplitude of the signals and provides time information with time of flight capability. Different...
The muon system of the ATLAS Experiment is currently undergoing a major upgrade with the replacement of the innermost detector wheel with new structures (New Small Wheel, NSW) based on resistive Micromegas (MM) and small-strip Thin Gap Chambers.
MM covers an active area of about 1280 m2, being the largest system based on Micro Pattern Gaseous Detector (MPGD) ever built so far. The key...
Natural titanium foils can be used in the production of several medical isotopes, including β+ emitter vanadium-48. Due to its 16 day half-life, vanadium-48 has potential application in long-term monitoring and longitudinal studies. While foils are often irradiated via solid target system, medical cyclotrons lacking these systems often have components that can be manipulated for this purpose,...