Principles and Perspectives of Radiographic Imaging with Muons
Radiographic imaging with muons, also called Muography, is based on the measurement of the absorption of muons, generated by the interaction of cosmic rays with the earth’s atmosphere, in matter. Muons are elementary particles with high penetrating power, a characteristic that makes them capable of...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-11-01
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| Series: | Journal of Imaging |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2313-433X/7/12/253 |
| _version_ | 1827671894731522048 |
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| author | Luigi Cimmino |
| author_facet | Luigi Cimmino |
| author_sort | Luigi Cimmino |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Radiographic imaging with muons, also called Muography, is based on the measurement of the absorption of muons, generated by the interaction of cosmic rays with the earth’s atmosphere, in matter. Muons are elementary particles with high penetrating power, a characteristic that makes them capable of crossing bodies of dimensions of the order of hundreds of meters. The interior of bodies the size of a pyramid or a volcano can be seen directly with the use of this technique, which can rely on highly segmented muon trackers. Since the muon flux is distributed in energy over a wide spectrum that depends on the direction of incidence, the main difference with radiography made with X-rays is in the source. The source of muons is not tunable, neither in energy nor in direction; to improve the signal-to-noise ratio, muography requires large instrumentation, long time data acquisition and high background rejection capacity. Here, we present the principles of the Muography, illustrating how radiographic images can be obtained, starting from the measurement of the attenuation of the muon flux through an object. It will then be discussed how recent technologies regarding artificial intelligence can give an impulse to this methodology in order to improve its results. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:50:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e3ebfaa2dfda42c38970723638e3d579 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2313-433X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:50:12Z |
| publishDate | 2021-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Imaging |
| spelling | doaj.art-e3ebfaa2dfda42c38970723638e3d5792023-11-23T09:00:32ZengMDPI AGJournal of Imaging2313-433X2021-11-0171225310.3390/jimaging7120253Principles and Perspectives of Radiographic Imaging with MuonsLuigi Cimmino0Department of Physics, University of Naples Federico II, 80126 Napoli, ItalyRadiographic imaging with muons, also called Muography, is based on the measurement of the absorption of muons, generated by the interaction of cosmic rays with the earth’s atmosphere, in matter. Muons are elementary particles with high penetrating power, a characteristic that makes them capable of crossing bodies of dimensions of the order of hundreds of meters. The interior of bodies the size of a pyramid or a volcano can be seen directly with the use of this technique, which can rely on highly segmented muon trackers. Since the muon flux is distributed in energy over a wide spectrum that depends on the direction of incidence, the main difference with radiography made with X-rays is in the source. The source of muons is not tunable, neither in energy nor in direction; to improve the signal-to-noise ratio, muography requires large instrumentation, long time data acquisition and high background rejection capacity. Here, we present the principles of the Muography, illustrating how radiographic images can be obtained, starting from the measurement of the attenuation of the muon flux through an object. It will then be discussed how recent technologies regarding artificial intelligence can give an impulse to this methodology in order to improve its results.https://www.mdpi.com/2313-433X/7/12/253muographyradiographic imagingthree-dimensional reconstruction methodmuon flux modelling |
| spellingShingle | Luigi Cimmino Principles and Perspectives of Radiographic Imaging with Muons Journal of Imaging muography radiographic imaging three-dimensional reconstruction method muon flux modelling |
| title | Principles and Perspectives of Radiographic Imaging with Muons |
| title_full | Principles and Perspectives of Radiographic Imaging with Muons |
| title_fullStr | Principles and Perspectives of Radiographic Imaging with Muons |
| title_full_unstemmed | Principles and Perspectives of Radiographic Imaging with Muons |
| title_short | Principles and Perspectives of Radiographic Imaging with Muons |
| title_sort | principles and perspectives of radiographic imaging with muons |
| topic | muography radiographic imaging three-dimensional reconstruction method muon flux modelling |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2313-433X/7/12/253 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT luigicimmino principlesandperspectivesofradiographicimagingwithmuons |