Speaker: Morishima Kunihiro

Title: Cosmic-ray Muon Imaging with Nuclear Emulsions: Technology and Applications

Date: 8 th June 2026.

Abstract:
Cosmic-ray muon imaging is a non-destructive visualization technique that uses high-energy cosmic-ray muons naturally reaching the Earth's surface to investigate the internal density distribution and structure of large-scale objects, geological bodies, and other targets. Owing to their high penetrating power, muons can provide internal information about thick objects that are difficult to examine using conventional methods such as X-ray imaging.

This seminar introduces cosmic-ray muon imaging using nuclear emulsions. 
Nuclear emulsions are solid-state tracking detectors with high three-dimensional spatial resolution and angular resolution. They require no electrical power, can be made compact and lightweight, and can therefore be installed with relatively few constraints on installation sites. These features make them well suited for cosmic-ray muon observations in various environments, including outdoor sites, underground spaces, confined areas, and locations where securing a power supply is difficult.

The seminar will also present recent technological developments at Nagoya University related to the production, chemical processing, track readout, and analysis of nuclear emulsions, and will discuss how these advances contribute to improving the performance of cosmic-ray muon imaging. It will also outline cosmic-ray muon imaging experiments that the speaker has conducted on a variety of targets, including the reactor units at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station and Khufu's Pyramid in Egypt, with a focus on the objects observed, experimental methods, and results obtained.

CV of the speaker:
Kunihiro Morishima is an associate professor at the Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Japan. After developing nuclear emulsion scanning systems and analysis techniques for the OPERA neutrino oscillation experiment, he now specializes in cosmic-ray muon imaging, or muography, using nuclear emulsion detectors. He has led the development and application of state-of-the-art nuclear emulsion technologies and cosmic-ray muon imaging techniques, and has made important contributions to the ScanPyramids project, which discovered two previously unknown voids inside Khufu's Pyramid. He is also advancing muon imaging studies for a wide range of applications, including investigations of other archaeological sites, volcanoes, levees, underground cavities, resource exploration, and other large-scale targets.
 

Zoom link: 

Topic: Wigner Kollokvium
Time: Jun 8, 2026 13:45 Amsterdam, Berlin, Rome, Stockholm, Vienna
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https://wigner-hu.zoom.us/j/89705619655?pwd=cPvNUS0AVBlSQSu5YzXi2yIQRRH…

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Meeting ID: 897 0561 9655
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