ミュオグラフィの地下探査への応用

抄録

Underground survey has long been dominated by classical mechanics, largely disregarding the potential of particle physics to augment existing techniques. The purpose of this article is to describe a potential of a new imaging technique called muography to apply to surveying underground structures. High-energy muons that are produced via the reaction between primary cosmic rays and the Earthʼs atmosphere can be used as a probe to explore the density distribution in gigantic objects including shallow parts of the Earthʼs crust. Muography has the potential to serve as a useful paradigm to transform our understanding of underground structures as the X-ray transformed our understanding of medicine and the body. Existing results for various underground targets are discussed here, and an outlook regarding anticipated future observations is briefly discussed.