Transmission muography is an imaging technique that allows us to obtain two-dimensional and three-dimensional average-target density images by measuring the transmission of atmospheric muons. Through this technique, it is possible to observe density anomalies inside a target volume and locate them three-dimensionally. In this work, the potential of the technique will be illustrated through the description of the results of two measurements carried out in the tourist path of the Temperino mine (Livorno, Italy) in an area where a higher concentration of Radon gas is measured. This section of the gallery, located at a depth of about 50 m and dating back to the Etruscan period, might contain ancient cavities not yet discovered that could represent preferential conduits into which Radon gas is released into the tourist route. The muographic results are illustrated, focusing on the search for low-density anomalies attributable to cavities. The measurements are part of the MIMA-SITES project aimed at ensuring the safety of specific zones within the Temperino mine.

From 2019 to 2023, the MIMA-SITES research project tested the application of muon radiography (muography) at the Temperino mine in the Archaeological and Mining Park of San Silvestro, Italy. Through the collaboration of several partners, i.e., Regione Toscana, National Institute for Nuclear Physics INFN division of Florence, Institute of Geosciences and Earth Resources – CNR, Parchi della Val di Cornia SpA, and the Department of Earth Sciences of the University of Florence, the project has took advantage of the MIMA (Muon Imaging for Mining and Archaeology) muon tracker to test the reliability of muography for archaeological and mining purposes. Focusing on revealing density variations in the mine’s overlying rock mass, this research project identified some unknown cavities and a Cu-Fe-enriched high-density ore shoots. Using the achieved results, multimedia contents were created by employing terrestrial, aerial, and mobile laser scanners (TLS, ALS, and MLS, respectively), unmanned aerial vehicle digital photogrammetry (UAV-DP), and muography data. The results of the muon radiography surveys have been integrated into a new exhibit within the museum pathway of the Temperino mine. This initiative stands as one of the early international examples of utilizing muography to enhance geological heritage within an archaeological and mining park. In addition to emphasizing its geological and archaeological importance, the exhibit sparks interest in local geotourism. This research confirms that incorporating innovative scientific content and multimedia elements can boosts the attractiveness of geological, archaeological, and mining parks, attracting new visitors. Muography can play a key role in cultivating knowledge and curiosity about the distinct geological and archaeological heritage of a site.

The MUon RAdiography of VESuvius (MURAVES) project aims to use muography imaging techniques to study the internal structure of the summit of the Mt. Vesuvius, an active volcano near Naples, Italy. This paper presents recent advancements in both data analysis and simulation tools that enhance the quality and reliability of the experiments results. A new track selection method, termed the Golden Selection, has been introduced to select high quality muon tracks by applying a refined Chi2 based criterion. This selection improves the signal to background ratio and enhances the resolution of muographic images. Additionally, the simulation framework has been upgraded with the integration of the MULDER (MUon simuLation for DEnsity Reconstruction) library, which unifies the functionalities of pervious used libraries within a single platform. MULDER enables efficient and accurate modeling of muon flux variations due to topographical features. An agreement is shown between simulated and experimental flux map.

This paper investigates the use of muon imaging technique (muography) to enhance engineering geological surveys, integrated with advanced geomatic methods like LiDAR systems and UAV-based digital photogrammetry, for detecting and characterizing cavities in an historical and partially abandoned mining site. The case study focuses on the Temperino mine, located within the Archaeological and Mining Park of San Silvestro, Italy. Historically significant, the site was mined for skarn minerals from the Etruscan period until the 20th century and the rock mass contains a complex network of both man-made and natural voids. These cavities pose significant risks to rock mass stability, including roof collapses, sidewall spalling and surface subsidence. In this study, transmission-based muography data collected using a muon tracker inside the mine were combined with terrestrial and mobile laser scanning (TLS and MLS), UAV-based photogrammetry, and geological modeling to reconstruct the geometry of cavities and surrounding rock mass. This integrated approach enables to achieve a preliminary numerical model of stress and strain distributions to assess stability conditions. By addressing the challenges associated with cavity detection and stability analysis, this study highlights the potential of muography to complement traditional engineering geological survey methods and the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to enhance safety, resource management and the sustainable revitalization of historic and abandoned mining districts.

Transmission-based muography (TM) is becoming an innovative and nondestructive imaging technique based on the measurement of the cosmic ray muon flux attenuation within matter, allowing the reconstruction of two-or three-dimensional transmission and density polar maps.This paper presents our most recent findings on TM measurements applied to ore shoot prospecting.All measurements and results were obtained during the MIMA-SITES project years of research.The case study was the Temperino mine in the San Silvestro Archaeological and Mining Park (Campiglia Marittima, Italy).Here, several magmatic and metasomatic geological units outcrop.Among them is a Cu-Fe-Zn-Pb(-Ag) sulfide skarn complex primarily composed of hedenbergite and ilvaite minerals.

The Palazzone Necropolis, located southeast of the hill of Perugia (Italy), is an Etruscan archaeological site open to the public, and well-known thanks to the numerous finds and its (∼)200 tombs from the Hellenistic age and 5 from the Archaic period.The most important tomb is represented by the Volumni Hypogeum.The Palazzone Necropolis is also defined as an archaeogeosite as it has been the subject of geological studies which, through the observation of the walls of the tombs, has made it possible to expand the geological framework for the interpretation of the formation of the Perugia hill.However, in the Palazzone Necropolis, the presence of other tombs is not excluded, especially in the eastern area of the archaeological site which is currently not open to visitors.The muography technique, thanks to the great penetrating power of atmospheric muons, fits into this context for the noninvasive identification of undiscovered cavities.This contribution will present the preliminary results of the muographic campaign carried out at the Palazzone Necropolis in which the observation of an entire hill was carried out.The results are also inserted in a geological context for the verification of the densities of the sediments that are present in this territory.

Transmission muography is a non-invasive imaging technique that exploits the penetrating power of atmospheric muons into matter to obtain two-dimensional and three-dimensional density images of the monitored structure. The detectors used are particle trackers. Muography enables the monitoring of large structures and it is also particularly useful in the archaeological field for a mapping of low-density underground anomalies potentially related to unknown or inaccessible tombs or tunnels. The Palazzone necropolis, located south of Perugia (Italy), dating back to Etruscan period, contains about 200 known tombs, some of which, such as the Volumni Hypogeum, can be visited thanks to a touristic route. The eastern area of the necropolis, on the other hand, does not have a touristic path and is partially unknown. The objective of the muographic measurement campaign is to support the re-evaluation of this archaeological area by searching for new anthropic cavities and identifying them three-dimensionally. One of the goals of this study is to obtain a three-dimensional localization of cavities starting from a single muographic measurement by exploiting an image focusing algorithm. For this purpose, an area that contains a known cavity was used as the reference cavity for the test of the three-dimensional reconstruction algorithm.

The MUon RAdiography of VESuvius (MURAVES) project aims at the study of Mt. Vesuvius, an active and hazardous volcano near Naples, Italy, with the use of muons freely and abundantly produced by cosmic rays. In particular, the MURAVES experiment intends to perform muographic imaging of the internal structure of the summit of Mt. Vesuvius. The challenging measurement of the rock density distribution in its summit by muography, in conjunction with data from other geophysical techniques, can help model possible eruption dynamics. The MURAVES apparatus consists of an array of three independent and identical muon trackers, with a total sensitive area of 3 square meters. In each tracker, a sequence of 4 XY tracking planes made of plastic scintillators is complemented by a 60 cm thick lead wall inserted between the two downstream planes to improve rejection of background from low energy muons. The apparatus is currently acquiring data. This paper presents preliminary results from the analysis of the first data samples acquired with trackers pointing towards Mt. Vesuvius, including the first relative measurement of the density projection of two flanks of the volcano at three different altitudes; we also present the workflow of the simulation chain of the MURAVES experiment and its ongoing developments.

High-luminosity particle collider experiments such as the ones planned at the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider require ever-greater vertexing precision of the tracking detectors, necessitating reductions in the material budget of the detectors. Traditionally, the fractional radiation length (x/X-0) of detectors is either estimated using known properties of the constituent materials, or measured in dedicated runs of the final detector. In this paper, we present a method of direct measurement of the material budget of a CMS prototype module designed for the Phase-2 upgrade of the CMS detector using a 40-65 MeV positron beam. A total of 630 million events were collected at the Paul Scherrer Institut PiE1 experimental area using a three-plane telescope consisting of the prototype module as the central plane, surrounded by two MALTA monolithic pixel detectors. Fractional radiation lengths were extracted from scattering angle distributions using the Highland approximation for multiple scattering. A statistical technique recovered runs suffering from trigger desynchronisation, and several corrections were introduced to compensate for local inefficiencies related to geometric and beam shape constraints. Two regions of the module were surveyed and yielded average x/X-0 values of (0.72 +/- 0.05)% and (0.95 +/- 0.09)%, which are compatible with empirical estimates for these regions computed from known material properties of 0.753% and 0.892%, respectively. Two types of higher-granularity maps of the fractional radiation length were produced, subdivided either into rectangular regions of uniform size, or polygonal-shaped regions of uniform material composition. The results bode well for the CMS Phase-2 upgrade modules, which will play a key role in the minimisation of the material of the upgraded detector.

The BLEMAB European project (BLast furnace stack density Estimation through online Muon ABsorption measurements), the evolution of the previous Mu -Blast European project, is designed to investigate in detail the capability of muon radiography techniques applied to the imaging of the inner zone of a blast furnace. In particular, the goal of this collaboration is to characterize the internal region (so-called cohesive zone) where the slowly downward -moving material begins to soften and melt, which plays an important role in the performance of the blast furnace itself. In this contribution, we describe the state-of-the-art of the muon tracking system which is currently being developed and installed at a blast furnace on the ArcelorMittal site in Bremen (Germany). Moreover, we will present the GEANT4 simulation framework devised for this application together with the simulation results. Finally, we will show the possible contribution of multiple scattering effects to such peculiar applications.

Muon radiography is an advanced imaging technique that utilizes cosmic muons to visualize the interior of structures and materials, making it highly valuable for subsurface investigations. In this study, we present a measurement conducted using muon radiography at the Temperino mine. We demonstrate the application of an adaptive binning approach using Voronoi tessellation to enhance image visualization and improve cavity detection. The results reveal that the adaptive binning technique significantly improves the visibility of regions with cavities. The combination of muon radiography and adaptive binning through Voronoi tessellation showcases its potential as a powerful tool for subsurface exploration and geological studies, providing a more accurate and reliable approach for cavity detection and characterization.

The Large Hadron Collider at CERN will undergo an upgrade in order to increase its luminosity to 7.5 × 10 34 cm -2 s -1 . The increased luminosity during this High-Luminosity running phase, starting around 2029, means a higher rate of proton-proton interactions, hence a larger ionizing dose and particle fluence for the detectors. The current tracking system of the CMS experiment will be fully replaced in order to cope with the new operating conditions. Prototype planar pixel sensors for the CMS Inner Tracker with square 50 μm × 50 μm and rectangular 100 μm × 25 μm pixels read out by the RD53A chip were characterized in the lab and at the DESY-II testbeam facility in order to identify designs that meet the requirements of CMS during the High-Luminosity running phase. A spatial resolution of approximately 3.4 μm (2 μm) is obtained using the modules with 50 μm × 50 μm (100 μm × 25 μm) pixels at the optimal angle of incidence before irradiation. After irradiation to a 1 MeV neutron equivalent fluence of Φ eq = 5.3 × 10 15 cm -2 , a resolution of 9.4 μm is achieved at a bias voltage of 800 V using a module with 50 μm × 50 μm pixel size. All modules retain a hit efficiency in excess of 99% after irradiation to fluences up to 2.1 × 10 16 cm -2 . Further studies of the electrical properties of the modules, especially crosstalk, are also presented in this paper.

The employment of remote sensing (RS) survey methods, in particular of close-range methods, as part of the muon imaging process is becoming a topic of growing interest. Use of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) methodologies, like terrestrial laser scanner (TLS), together with the unmanned aerial vehicles digital photogrammetry (UAV-DP) and satellite data are proving to be fundamental tools to carry out a reliable muographic measurements campaign. The main purpose of this presentation is to show the importance of correctly plan TLS and UAV-DP field surveys for muon radiography applications. To this aim, a real case study is presented: the research of hidden tombs at the Volumni Hypogeum archeo-geosite (Umbria, Italy). A high-resolution digital terrain model (DTM) and three-dimensional models of the surface/sub-surface were created merging different RS survey methods. The muon flux transmission was measured using the MIMA detector prototype (Muon Imaging for Mining and Archaeology). The latter is a small tracker (0.5 x 0.5. x 0.5 m3) developed by the physicists of the National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN), unit of Florence, and the Department of Physics and Astronomy of Florence. The measured muon flux was compared to the simulated one, obtained using the three-dimensional created environment, to infer information about the average density of the studied target along the various LoS (line of sight). The study highlights the importance of correctly carrying out the TLS and UAV-DP survey to make reliable hypotheses and decisions throughout the muographic measurement campaign. Furthermore, we pointed out how the precision of the tridimensional data can bias the muon imaging results.

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN will undergo major upgrades to increase the instantaneous luminosity up to 5–7.5×10 34 cm -2 s -1 . This High Luminosity upgrade of the LHC (HL-LHC) will deliver a total of 3000–4000 fb -1 of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13–14 TeV. To cope with these challenging environmental conditions, the strip tracker of the CMS experiment will be upgraded using modules with two closely-spaced silicon sensors to provide information to include tracking in the Level-1 trigger selection. This paper describes the performance, in a test beam experiment, of the first prototype module based on the final version of the CMS Binary Chip front-end ASIC before and after the module was irradiated with neutrons. Results demonstrate that the prototype module satisfies the requirements, providing efficient tracking information, after being irradiated with a total fluence comparable to the one expected through the lifetime of the experiment.

Atmospheric muons represent the primary component of cosmic radiation detected at sea level. Their specific characteristics - natural abundance, energy-based ability to penetrate objects, harmlessness - make them an essential tool for performing non-destructive imaging of the internal structure of objects by means of muon transmission radiography (MTR), a 2D technique optimized for studying large objects such as mountains and volcanoes, and multiple scattering muon tomography (MSMT), a 3D technique exploited for relatively small objects. On the other hand, the considerable presence of atmospheric muons and secondary particles produced by them influences the measurements of low background experiments, designed to reveal dark matter and neutrinos signals. In all cases, the need to have a reliable model that accurately describes the energy spectrum and the angular distribution of the flux of atmospheric muons at sea level is evident. This contribution will describe the development of a parametric analytical model built by fitting a selected set of empirical models developed in the last decades to the data measured by ADAMO (Florence, Italy, 2004) and other experiments. The developed model was subsequently used as a generator tool for Monte Carlo simulations in some applications of the MTR technique and the results will be presented and discussed.

Muon radiography, or muography, is a non-invasive technique allowing imaging of the interior of large structures (target) thanks to the study of the absorption of atmospheric muons in materials. The muons absorption effect depends not only on the thickness, but also on the density of the target. Careful comparisons of the muographic results with simulations taking into account a precise description of the target's geometry, allow estimating the two dimensional distribution of the average density of the structure under study as seen from the measurement point of view. In this presentation an application in the geological field for the research and localization of low density anomalies attributable to cavities inside an abandoned mine will be shown. The aim of the study is to identify and locate areas that might be responsible for the production of anomalous concentrations of radon gas inside underground mining sites used for touristic itineraries. Radon is a natural radioactive gas that exposes tourists to ionizing radiation. Radon decay products are the second cause of lung cancer after smoking. It is important therefore to understand where the radon gas comes from before moving through the different galleries. The case study is the Temperino mine near Campiglia Marittima (LI-Italy). Here, the mining activity ended in 1980 and it was primarily focused on the extraction of copper, silver lead and zinc minerals. The area to be explored with muon radiography is part of an area dating back to the Etruscan period that has not yet been completely mapped and that is located above the tourist path of the Temperino mine at a depth of about 40 m from the surface of the hill above. Any nearby cavity could represent a prime conduit that brings radon gas into the tourist trail. The identification and localization in space of these ancient excavations is also interesting from a geological and archaeological point of view. The detector employed for the muographic measurements reported in this presentation, designed in Florence by the National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN) and the Department of Physics and Astronomy, is called MIMA (Muon Imaging for Mining and Archaeology) and has cubic shape and approximate dimensions of (50x50x50) cm3. MIMA is equipped with a special protective aluminum mechanism that allows its altazimuth orientation.

Transmission-based muography (TM) is an innovative imaging technique based on the measurement and analysis of the cosmic ray muons flux attenuation within the target under investigation. This technique allows imaging inner-body density differences and has successfully been applied in a wide range of research fields: geology, archaeology, engineering geology and civil engineering. The aim of this study is to show the reliability of TM as an innovative, noninvasive geophysical method for ore body prospecting and other mining related studies. The measurements were carried out at the Temperino mine in the San Silvestro Archaeological and Mining Park (Campiglia Marittima, Italy), where several magmatic and metasomatic geological units are embodied. Among them, a Cu–Fe–Zn–Pb(–Ag) sulfide skarn complex primarily composed by hedenbergite and ilvaite minerals. Using the acquired muon imaging data obtained with the MIMA (Muon Imaging for Mining and Archaeology) detector prototype (cubic detector of 0.5 × 0.5 × 0.5 m 3 ), the presence of a high-density vein inside the skarn body within the rock volume above the muon detector was identified, localized and interpreted. Applying a back-projection algorithm to the obtained 2D transmission map made it possible to estimate and visualize as point cloud data, in a 2D or 3D environment, the identified high-density body and its relative distance from the detector. The results of this study highlight the potential of muography as a support tool to other geophysical methods in the field of mining exploration.

To cope with the challenging environment of the planned high luminosity upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC), scheduled to start operation in 2029, CMS will replace its entire tracking system. The requirements for the tracker are largely determined by the long operation time of 10 years with an instantaneous peak luminosity of up to 7.5 x 1034 cm-2 s-1 in the ultimate performance scenario. Depending on the radial distance from the interaction point, the silicon sensors will receive a particle fluence corresponding to a non-ionising energy loss of up to ?eq = 3.5 x 1016 cm-2. This paper focuses on planar pixel sensor design and qualification up to a fluence of ?eq = 1.4 x 1016 cm-2. For the development of appropriate planar pixel sensors an R&D program was initiated, which includes n+-p sensors on 150 mm (6") wafers with an active thickness of 150 mu m with pixel sizes of 100 x 25 mu m2 and 50 x 50 mu m2 manufactured by Hamamatsu Photonics K.K. (HPK). Single chip modules with ROC4Sens and RD53A readout chips were made. Irradiation with protons and neutrons, as well was an extensive test beam campaign at DESY were carried out. This paper presents the investigation of various assemblies mainly with ROC4Sens readout chips. It demonstrates that multiple designs fulfil the requirements in terms of breakdown voltage, leakage current and efficiency. The single point resolution for 50 x 50 mu m2 pixels is measured as 4.0 mu m for non-irradiated samples, and 6.3 mu m after irradiation to ?eq = 7.2 x 1015 cm-2.

In the last twenty years several applications of muography (or muon radiography) technique have been carried out for geological purposes. Among them, particular attention was given to underground ore bodies prospections. For thousands of years humans have been searching new methods to understand where to find underground ore bodies and how to localize it in the three-dimensional space. Often, economically useful minerals are bounded to other minerals, forming rocks of high density values that are hosted, usually, in rocks with lower density values. In literature gravimetry and magnetometry represent the most employed geophysical methods for imaging and detection of mineral-rich ore bodies. To verify the feasibility of muography as a non-invasive geophysical prospecting technique, our research group, composed by subnuclear physicists and geologists, carried out some underground measurement campaigns at the Temperino Mine (Campiglia Marittima, Italy). Here it is located a pliocenic metasomatic ore deposit, a Cu-Pb-Zn-Fe skarn complex composed by johannsenite, quartz, hedenbergite, ilvaite and accessory primary sulphides (chalcopyrite, galena, sphalerite, pyrite). These metalliferous bodies of skarn have tabular geometries with sub-vertical orientations. Currently, the first level of Temperino Mine has been equipped as a touristic path and belong to the Archeological Mining Park of San Silvestro. Along this gallery, carved both into the metamorphic and non-metamorphic rocks, it’s been installed the MIMA muon tracker (Muon Imaging for Mining and Archaeology), a small and rugged prototype (0.5 x 0.5. x 0.5 m3) developed by the physicists of the National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN), unit of Florence, and the Department of Physics and Astronomy of Florence. MIMA detector is able to measure the underground muon flux inside the mine gallery. Matching the simulated muon transmission rate with the experimentally measured one it’s possible to obtain a two dimensional average density angular map of the observed target. Also, using algorithms based on triangulation and back-projection techniques is possible to obtain a reconstruction of the 3D volume of high-density areas (and also low-density areas) inside the studied volume. The latter is the volume that falls within the detector’s acceptance. The aim of this research is to obtain a georeferenced 3D model of the Cu-Pb-Zn ore bodies hosted in the rocks between the top of the mine gallery and the surface of the Temperino Mine area. We want to confirm that muography technique could become a suitable and reliable tool for the mining prospections field.

The aim of the BLEMAB project (BLast furnace stack density Estimation through online Muons ABsorption measurements) is the application of muon radiography techniques, to image a blast furnace's inner zone.In particular, the goal of the study is to characterize the geometry and size of the so-called "cohesive zone", i.e., the spatial region where the slowly downward-moving material begins to soften and melt, which plays such an important role in the performance of the blast furnace itself.Thanks to the high penetration power of natural cosmic-ray muon radiation, muon transmission radiography could be an appropriate non invasive methodology for the imaging of large high-density structures such as a blast furnace, whose linear dimensions can be up to a few tens of meters.A state-of-the-art muon tracking system is currently in development and will be installed at a blast furnace on the ArcelorMittal site in Bremen (Germany), where it will collect data for a period of various months.In this paper, the status of the project and the expectations based on preliminary simulations are presented and briefly discussed.