ELI-NP images lead bricks through concrete with laser-driven muons

Researchers at Romania's ELI-NP facility used a 10-petawatt laser to generate a muon beam and produce a shadow image of lead bricks behind 2 meters of concrete. Detected particles were about 90 percent muons; the work was posted as a preprint on September 23, 2026 and has not yet been peer reviewed.

• Laser delivered about 230 joules in a 23-femtosecond pulse
• Portable detectors sat in a van up to 42 meters from the source
• Roughly 90 percent of detected particles were muons
• The laser fires about once per minute and resolution remains low