IIHE invited seminar: Muon tomography of the Great Pyramid

by Dr David ATTIE (CEA Saclay)

Friday 8 Dec 2017, 14:00 → 15:00 Europe/Brussels

Jean Sacton Seminar room (1G003) (IIHE, VUB)

abstract: The muon tomography is a non-destructive imaging technique exploiting natural muons produced by cosmic rays interacting with Earth’s atmosphere to generate a 2D or a 3D image using respectively muon absorption or muon Coulomb scattering in high density matter. Even though the first usage of this technique appeared in the 1950s, recent improvements of the particle physics detectors in performance, robustness and manufacturing renewed interests for academic and societal applications. In 2015, a muon telescope was built at Saclay using an innovative micro-pattern gas detector type called large resistive 2D Micromegas with genetic multiplexing (MultiGen) and was operated for the first time outside a lab highlighting its performance. The successful data taking triggered our participation in the ScanPyramid mission, where new improved telescopes were constructed and were operated in Egypt for muographies of the Khufu’s Pyramid allowing the discovery of unknown cavities. At the same time, an increasing interest from French companies emerged looking for proofs of concept in many other fields, from nuclear waste imaging to civil engineering. After the description of the MultiGen technology and the telescopes, results in 2D and 3D imaging will be presented. Potential societal applications will also be discussed.