Simulation Studies of a Novel Muography Detector for the Great Pyramids

Abstract

Muography is an imaging technique that can be used to examine the interior structure of large-size objects. The technique is based on measurements of the absorption of cosmic-ray muons passing through the object under study. Muographic imaging was already successfully applied to the discovery of a new void inside the Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza, Egypt. With the aim of studying the Pyramid of Khafre, the second largest pyramid at Giza, a new muography detector is currently being constructed. In this paper we report on the development of a corresponding new simulation framework of the Great Pyramids and the detector setup. This simulation will serve as a basis to develop the data and image reconstruction algorithms to be used during our future muography campaign in the Pyramid of Khafre, and will allow us to study the relevant experimental conditions at the site.