Nondestructive 3D elemental imaging of Edo's archaeological artifacts via muonic X-ray measurements

Chiu, I.-H.; 大澤 崇人  ; 二宮 和彦*; 武田 伸一郎*; 高橋 忠幸*; 桂川 美穂*; 渡辺 伸*; 久保 謙哉*; 齋藤 努*; 水本 和美*; 谷口 秋洋*; 梅垣 いづみ*; 下村 浩一郎*

Chiu, I.-H.; Osawa, Takahito; Ninomiya, Kazuhiko*; Takeda, Shinichiro*; Takahashi, Tadayuki*; Katsuragawa, Miho*; Watanabe, Shin*; Kubo, Kenya*; Saito, Tsutomu*; Mizumoto, Kazumi*; Taniguchi, Akihiro*; Umegaki, Izumi*; Shimomura, Koichiro*

Cultural heritage artifacts often display complex, multi-layered structures. Therefore, an in situ noninvasive method is required for determining the elemental distribution of such materials. We present a nondestructive 3D elemental analysis approach for an Edo-period ceramic crucible using muonic X-ray measurements. The system employs four CdTe semiconductor imaging detectors to acquire 2D elemental distributions at 12 measurement angles, and 3D images were reconstructed based on computed tomography. We adjusted muon energy to penetrate the metallic layer covering the crucible bottom and analyze the interior of the crucible. Silicon(Si) and oxygen(O) signals were successfully identified, and these signals, originating from highly abundant silica (SiO) within the crucible matrix, confirmed the ceramic composition. These findings demonstrated the capability of muonic X-ray imaging in achieving depth-resolved analysis by controlling the observation position of an object. The presented method is broadly valuable for the cultural heritage study.