Cultural heritage investigations using cosmic muons

Sara Vanini; Fabio Ambrosino; Lorenzo Bonechi; Germano Bonomi; Paolo Checchia; Raffaello D'Alessandro; Giancarlo Nebbia; Giulio Saracino; Aldo Zenoni; Gianni Zumerle

doi:10.1016/j.crhy.2018.08.002

Cultural heritage investigations using cosmic muons

Sara Vanini ¹ ; Fabio Ambrosino ^2,³; Lorenzo Bonechi ⁴; Germano Bonomi ⁵; Paolo Checchia ⁶; Raffaello D'Alessandro ^7,⁴; Giancarlo Nebbia ⁶; Giulio Saracino ^2,³; Aldo Zenoni ⁵; Gianni Zumerle ⁶

¹ University of Padova, via Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova, Italy
² University of Napoli, Via Cinthia, 80126 Fuorigrotta, NA, Italy
³ INFN Sezione di Napoli, Strada Comunale Cintia, 80126 Napoli, Italy
⁴ INFN Sezione di Firenze, Via Giovanni Sansone, 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, FI, Italy
⁵ University of Brescia, via Branze 38, 25123 Brescia, Italy
⁶ INFN Sezione di Padova, via Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova, Italy
⁷ University of Firenze, via G. Sansone, 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, FI, Italy

Comptes Rendus. Physique, Volume 19 (2018) no. 7, pp. 533-542.

Abstract
Résumé

Cosmic rays are a constant, free source of radiation that can be exploited in various ways to probe heavy and extended objects. Analyzed with proper detection systems, they can produce radiographic as well as tomographic images of bulky materials. Several applications have been proposed, in particular in the domain of security checks, and some are presently fielded for routine use. In this paper, cosmic muon technology is presented, and its possible use in the field of cultural heritage is described.

Les rayons cosmiques représentent une source constante et gratuite de radiation qui peut être utilisée de différentes façons pour sonder des objets massifs et volumineux. Analysés avec des systèmes de détection spécialisés, ils peuvent produire aussi bien des images radiographiques que des images tomographiques d'objets de grandes dimensions. De nombreuses applications ont été proposées, dont quelques-unes sont actuellement utilisées, notamment dans le domaine de la sécurité. Ce papier présente la technologie des muons cosmiques et décrit des utilisations possibles dans le domaine des biens culturels.

Published online: 2018-08-23

DOI: 10.1016/j.crhy.2018.08.002

Keywords: Cosmic rays, Cultural heritage, Muon tomography, Muon radiography, Image reconstruction
Mot clés : Rayons cosmiques, Patrimoine culturel, Tomographie muons, Radiographie muons, Imagerie

Author's affiliations:

Sara Vanini ¹; Fabio Ambrosino ^{2, 3}; Lorenzo Bonechi ⁴; Germano Bonomi ⁵; Paolo Checchia ⁶; Raffaello D'Alessandro ^{7, 4}; Giancarlo Nebbia ⁶; Giulio Saracino ^{2, 3}; Aldo Zenoni ⁵; Gianni Zumerle ⁶

¹ University of Padova, via Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova, Italy
² University of Napoli, Via Cinthia, 80126 Fuorigrotta, NA, Italy
³ INFN Sezione di Napoli, Strada Comunale Cintia, 80126 Napoli, Italy
⁴ INFN Sezione di Firenze, Via Giovanni Sansone, 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, FI, Italy
⁵ University of Brescia, via Branze 38, 25123 Brescia, Italy
⁶ INFN Sezione di Padova, via Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova, Italy
⁷ University of Firenze, via G. Sansone, 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, FI, Italy

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     author = {Sara Vanini and Fabio Ambrosino and Lorenzo Bonechi and Germano Bonomi and Paolo Checchia and Raffaello D'Alessandro and Giancarlo Nebbia and Giulio Saracino and Aldo Zenoni and Gianni Zumerle},
     title = {Cultural heritage investigations using cosmic muons},
     journal = {Comptes Rendus. Physique},
     pages = {533--542},
     publisher = {Elsevier},
     volume = {19},
     number = {7},
     year = {2018},
     doi = {10.1016/j.crhy.2018.08.002},
     language = {en},
}

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AU  - Fabio Ambrosino
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AU  - Raffaello D'Alessandro
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%A Sara Vanini
%A Fabio Ambrosino
%A Lorenzo Bonechi
%A Germano Bonomi
%A Paolo Checchia
%A Raffaello D'Alessandro
%A Giancarlo Nebbia
%A Giulio Saracino
%A Aldo Zenoni
%A Gianni Zumerle
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Sara Vanini; Fabio Ambrosino; Lorenzo Bonechi; Germano Bonomi; Paolo Checchia; Raffaello D'Alessandro; Giancarlo Nebbia; Giulio Saracino; Aldo Zenoni; Gianni Zumerle. Cultural heritage investigations using cosmic muons. Comptes Rendus. Physique, Volume 19 (2018) no. 7, pp. 533-542. doi : 10.1016/j.crhy.2018.08.002. https://comptes-rendus.academie-sciences.fr/physique/articles/10.1016/j.crhy.2018.08.002/

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