The Irfu Micromegas telescope & muon activities 21/12/2015 Sébastien Procureur CEA-Saclay

content Origin of muon activities at Irfu and detector evolution Muographies with absorption with Micromegas Other applications of muons under investigation Perspectives

Origin of muon activities at Irfu Instrumentation for fundamental physics… → a home made detector: the Micromegas (Giomataris et al., 1996) → several patents, last in 2012 New applications are emerging → More than 10 years of R&D, initiated for the needs of particle and nuclear physics Nucleon structure (Compass, Clas12, EIC) Exotic nuclei (MINOS) + particle physics (LHC/ATLAS) + anti-matter (ASACUSA) + dark matter (CAST) + neutrinos (T2K) + astrophysics (HARPO) + …

Micromegas and multiplexing Micromegas (MPGD) : very precise detectors… but many electronic channels → cost → consumption → transportability An innovative multiplexing pattern was developed at Irfu to reduce the electronics « genetic multiplexing » (S. Procureur, R. Dupré, S. Aune, 2012) 1 2 → ~ 15 times less electronics n=61 with 1024 strips 50 cm → >95% efficiency in 2D!

Muographies with absorption Historically the first applications of muons Thickness of a mountain: George (1955) Hidden chambers in Khephren pyramid: Alvarez (1970) Volcanology: Nagamine (1995), Tanaka (2001), Diaphane collaboration (2008) MPGDs offers the possibility of highly performant telescopes → excellent spatial resolution Tanaka et al. Lesparre et al. Image quality Compact Large acceptance (including open sky) → combined with multiplexing Low consumption Much cheaper Easy to transport → cylindrical geometry New applications (boreholes, mining)

Muographies with absorption 1st Micromegas telescope… also benefitting from Irfu elec. development 30 W of consumption Self triggering elec. (CLAS12) 3.5 months experiment Tested with solar boards

Muographies with absorption 1st Micromegas telescope… and validation of its performance → static Image of scintillator telescope with same lever arm → dynamic Direct normalization with simultaneous open sky measurement Online feedback of T (P) on the HV

Muographies with absorption A long list of potential applications… → Arche (Greece) ? HIP Institute → Scan Pyramid (Egypt) → Soil inspection → Civil engineering Contacted by RATP to probe Paris underground → Others Contacted by IAEA for catalyst monitoring

Tomography with deviation Muon imager for homeland security (470 k€ grant from 2014-2016) Smaller setup for scientific communication: TomoMu Interactive Designed to provide a reconstruction of a pattern within 20’ (simulations) 2’ 10’ 30’ Applications for imaging with longer acquisition times Not neutrons, not X-rays… just free muons, with a transportable setup « Muona Lisa »

Muon metrology New class of applications Use the straight (on average!) propagation of muons for positioning Already mentioned in the literature, e.g. Zenoni (20014) Can measure building deformations Zenoni Free (≠ laser) Continuous (≠ laser) Autonomous (≠ laser) Work even between obstacles (roof, wall) (≠ laser) Simulation of performance: → Requires spatial resolution < 0.3 mm to provide mm accuracy/day at 20-30 m distance → 0.5 m of concrete wall marginally degrades the resolution MPGD technology Countless cases of applications

→ May be deployed in Egypt in 2016 (Scan Pyramids) perspectives Telescope soon operational again (January) → May be deployed in Egypt in 2016 (Scan Pyramids) → Looking for funds to build a 2nd telescope Discussions with IPN-L for hybrid telescopes (Scintillators + Micromegas) → combined time resolution from Sci and spatial resolution from MM Detectors fabrication (finally) mastered by a PCB company in France → First 2 detectors recently delivered: one fully tested in cosmics, one tested electrically