Muon Tomography sites for Colombian volcanoes

A. Vesga-Ramírez; D. Sierra-Porta; J. Pena-Rodriguez; J. D. Sanabria-Gomez; M. Valencia-Otero; C. Sarmiento-Cano; M. Suarez-Duran; H. Asorey; L. A. Nunez

arXiv · 1705.09884

Muon Tomography sites for Colombian volcanoes

A. Vesga-Ramírez·D. Sierra-Porta·J. Pena-Rodriguez·J. D. Sanabria-Gomez·M. Valencia-Otero·C. Sarmiento-Cano·M. Suarez-Duran·H. Asorey·L. A. Nunez

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Abstract

By using a very detailed simulation scheme, we have calculated the cosmic ray background flux at 13 active Colombian volcanoes and developed a methodology to identify the most convenient places for a muon telescope to study their inner structure. Our simulation scheme considers three critical factors with different spatial and time scales: the geomagnetic effects, the development of extensive air showers in the atmosphere, and the detector response at ground level. The muon energy dissipation along the path crossing the geological structure is modeled considering the losses due to ionization, and also contributions from radiative Bremstrahlung, nuclear interactions, and pair production. By considering each particular volcano topography and assuming reasonable statistics for different instrument acceptances, we obtained the muon flux crossing each structure and estimated the exposure time for our hybrid muon telescope at several points around each geological edifice. After a detailed study from the topography, we have identified the best volcano to be studied, spotted the finest points to place a muon telescope and estimated its time exposures for a significant statistics of muon flux. We have devised a mix of technical and logistic criteria --the ``rule of thumb'' criteria-- and found that only Cerro Machin, located at the Cordillera Central (4$^{\circ}$29'N 75$^{\circ}$22'W), can be feasibly studied today through muography. Cerro Negro and Chiles could be good candidates shortly

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A. Vesga-Ramírez, D. Sierra-Porta, J. Pena-Rodriguez, J. D. Sanabria-Gomez, M. Valencia-Otero, C. Sarmiento-Cano, M. Suarez-Duran, H. Asorey, L. A. Nunez. 2017-05-28. Muon Tomography sites for Colombian volcanoes. https://arxiv.org/abs/1705.09884

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