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- Title
The effect of rock composition on muon tomography measurements.
- Authors
Lechmann, Alessandro; Mair, David; Ariga, Akitaka; Tomoko Ariga; Ereditato, Antonio; Nishiyama, Ryuichi; Pistillo, Ciro; Scampoli, Paola; Schlunegger, Fritz; Vladymyrov, Mykhailo
- Abstract
In recent years, the use of radiographic inspection with cosmic-ray muons has spread into multiple research and industrial fields. This technique is based on the high-penetration power of cosmogenic muons. Specifically, it allows the resolution of internal density structures of large scale, geological objects through precise measurement of the muon absorption rate. So far in many previous works, this muon absorption rate has been considered to depend solely on the density of traversed material (under the assumption of a standard rock) but the variation in chemical composition has not been taken seriously into account. However, from our experience with muon tomography in Alpine environments we find that this assumption causes a substantial bias on the muon flux calculation, particularly where the target consists of high {Z2/A} (like basalts) or low {Z2/A} (e.g. dolomites) rocks and where the material thickness exceeds 300m. In this paper we derive an energy loss equation for different minerals and we additionally derive a related equation for mineral assemblages that can be used for any rock type on which mineralogical data is available. Thus, for muon tomography experiments in which high/low {Z2/A} rock thicknesses can be expected, it is advisable to plan an accompanying geological field campaign to determine a realistic rock model.
- Subjects
COSMIC ray muons; ENERGY dissipation; TOMOGRAPHY
- Publication
Solid Earth Discussions, 2018, p1
- ISSN
1869-9537
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.5194/se-2018-46