Identification of nuclear materials in cargo containers using cosmic rays

Muon tomography represents a fairly new type of imaging technique that can be used in detecting high-Z materials. Results of Monte Carlo simulations for muon scattering in different types of target materials are presented. The dependence of the detector capability to identify high-Z targets on position resolution has been studied. Muon tracks are reconstructed using a basic point of closest approach (PoCA) algorithm which is used to construct a 3D tomographic image of the volume interrogated. The effect of other parameters such as the distance between detectors and the number of detectors per set on material identification is also presented. Initial results on other potential techniques using cosmic rays are also discussed.