Imaging internal density structure of the Laoheishan volcanic cone with cosmic ray muon radiography

• Published in: Nuclear science and techniques 2022-07, Vol.33 (7), p.84-93, Article 88
• Main Authors: Cheng, Ya-Ping, Han, Ran, Li, Zhi-Wei, Li, Jing-Tai, Mao, Xin, Dou, Wen-Qiang, Feng, Xin-Zhuo, Ou-Yang, Xiao-Ping, Liao, Bin, Liu, Fang, Huang, Lei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Beam Physics; Nuclear Energy; Particle Acceleration and Detection; Particle and Nuclear Physics; Physics; Physics and Astronomy
• ISSN: 1001-8042; 2210-3147
• DOI: 10.1007/s41365-022-01072-4

Muon radiography is a promising technique for imaging the internal density structures of targets such as tunnels, pyramids, and volcanoes up to a scale of a few hundred meters by measuring the flux attenuation of cosmic ray muons after they have traveled through these targets. In this study, we conducted experimental muon radiography of one of the volcanoes in the Wudalianchi area in Northeast China to image its internal density structure. The muon detector used in this study was composed of plastic scintillators and silicon photomultipliers. After approximately one and a half months of observing the crater and conduit of the Laoheishan volcano cone in Wudalianchi from September 23 rd to November 10 th 2019, more than 3 million muon tracks fulfilling the data selection criteria were collected. Based on the muon samples and high-resolution topography obtained through aerial photogrammetry using an unmanned aerial vehicle, a density image of the Laoheishan volcano cone was constructed. The results obtained in this experiment demonstrate the feasibility of using a radiography technique based on plastic scintillator detectors. To obtain the density distribution, we performed a detailed background analysis and found that low-energy charged particles dominated the background noise. Relatively higher densities were found near the surface of the volcanic cone, whereas relatively lower densities were found near the center of the volcanic cone. The experiment in this study is the first volcano muon tomography study performed in China. Our work provides an important reference for future research.