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Updated: May 17, 2025

Visualization of Low-Level Gamma Radiation Sources Using a Low-Cost, High-Sensitivity, Omnidirectional Compton Camera
Published on: January 30, 2020
Toward using cosmic rays to image cultural heritage objects
Andrea Giammanco1, Marwa Al Moussawi1, Matthieu Boone2
1Centre for Cosmology, Particle Physics and Phenomenology (CP3), Université catholique de Louvain, Chemin du Cyclotron 2, 1348 Louvain la Neuve, Belgium.
Abstract:
Muons are elementary particles abundantly and freely produced in cosmic-ray interactions and can be used for nondestructive imaging of internal structures. This novel technique, nicknamed "muography", has been applied in use cases ranging from geophysics to archaeology to nuclear safety, but it has been so far underexplored for a vast category of cultural heritage objects that are relatively dense (stone, metals, etc.) and with size ranging from decimeters to human size. In this paper, we review recent development of portable muon detectors and explore the strengths and limitations of the technique. Despite the limited particle flux available, muography is found to be an intriguing option, particularly in cases where the items to be analyzed are not transportable or set up in a confined environment.
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