Contribution
Development of muon tomography for non-invasive studies of geophysical objects
Speakers
- Mr. Jose Francisco BAUTISTA LEON
Primary authors
- Mr. Jose Francisco BAUTISTA LEON (Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería)
Co-authors
- Dr. César M. CASTROMONTE FLORES (Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería)
- Mr. Luis J. OTINIANO ORMACHEA (CONIDA)
Content
This project presents the current state of the muon tomograph developed by the Peruvian Space Agency (CONIDA) and the National University of Engineering (UNI), with funding from the National Council of Science, Technology, and Innovation (CONCYTEC). This development is significant because it enables non-invasive studies in fields such as geology, geophysics, and archaeology.
Muon tomography originated from cosmic ray studies, when scientists discovered particles from space colliding with atmospheric ions, generating various particles such as electrons, muons, pions, and kaons, among others. This phenomenon is called Extensive Air Showers (EAS). The muon, one of the most energetic particles in EAS, is highly penetrating. Furthermore, atmospheric muons have a well-known and well-studied energy spectrum and open sky flux. Muon tomography operates by comparing the atmospheric muon flux passing through an object with the open sky atmospheric muon flux.
The project utilizes a hodoscope based on scintillator bars, located at the National University of Engineering (Lima, Peru). This material becomes excited when a charged particle passes through it, emitting a photon that is captured by a SiPM (Silicon Photomultiplier). Using this detector, it is possible to measure the muon flux in various directions. In this way, the open sky muon flux can be measured, and it should be proportional to $\cos^{2}\theta$, where $\theta$ is the zenith angle.
The data analysis includes algorithms developed to analyze the muon and electromagnetic spectrum in each scintillator bar of the hodoscope, as well as to measure the open sky atmospheric muon flux. However, the detector still suffers from significant noise, which remains a challenge.
In conclusion, differences were found between some scintillator bars in the detector, indicating areas that need improvement. The project successfully established an initial state for the detector and characterized the particles detected. Currently, the muon tomograph is in the improvement phase, with the first step focused on achieving better optical coupling.