Tomographic Muon Imaging of the Great Pyramid of Giza

TL;DR

This paper discusses a new, highly sensitive muon imaging system designed to produce detailed tomographic images of the Great Pyramid of Giza, building on previous cosmic-ray muon imaging techniques with modern instrumentation.

Contribution

It introduces a large, advanced muon telescope system with significantly increased sensitivity and comprehensive imaging capabilities for large archaeological structures.

Findings

Development of a muon telescope with 100x sensitivity

First true tomographic imaging of a large pyramid

Enhanced imaging from nearly all angles

Abstract

The pyramids of the Giza plateau have fascinated visitors since ancient times and are the last of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world still standing. It has been half a century since Luiz Alvarez and his team used cosmic-ray muon imaging to look for hidden chambers in Khafres Pyramid. Advances in instrumentation for High-Energy Physics (HEP) allowed a new survey, ScanPyramids, to make important new discoveries at the Great Pyramid (Khufu) utilizing the same basic technique that the Alvarez team used, but now with modern instrumentation. The Exploring the Great Pyramid Mission plans to field a very-large muon telescope system that will be transformational with respect to the field of cosmic-ray muon imaging. We plan to field a telescope system that has upwards of 100 times the sensitivity of the equipment that has recently been used at the Great Pyramid, will image muons from nearly all angles and will, for the first time, produce a true tomographic image of such a large structure.