Speaker
Description
To enable muography measurements in logistically challenging environments, we have developed a compact and transportable muon tracking detector. The system is based on glass Resistive Plate Chambers (gRPCs) and features a sealed, gas-tight design specifically optimized for field deployment. The telescope consists of two to four gRPC modules, depending on the use case, constructed with glass electrodes having an active area of 16 × 16 cm². Key design priorities include mechanical robustness, operational autonomy, flexible deployment, safety, and cost-effectiveness. Detector performance has been characterized using atmospheric cosmic-ray muons, demonstrating its applicability to muographic measurements in demanding settings.
Additionally, in 2025 our team installed this telescope at the laser wake field multi-GeV electron accelerator ELBA at ELI Beamlines. The aim was to measure highly penetrating charged particles generated by the ultra-short (30 fs) pulsed (3.3 Hz) and high-power (1 PW) plasma-laser interaction. Tungsten was added before a concrete dump to increase muon production. This was the first use of a gRPC in a laser environment. The campaign demonstrated that gRPC detectors operate reliably and safely even under intense radiation and strong electromagnetic fields. While the collected datasets were statistically limited and affected by the parasitic nature of the data taking, they enabled a first characterization of the background and confirmed the detectors' stability and tracking performance even in such a complex environment. These results validate the feasibility of the approach and provide a solid foundation for a dedicated future run under optimized beam conditions, where muon detection sensitivity is expected to improve substantially.
This talk focuses primarily on the long-term stability and performance testing of these detectors, with particular attention to detection efficiency, timing response, and gas stability, alongside beam test results.