Laser-driven muon beam produces first artificial-particle image

A Romanian team at the ELI-NP facility has produced the first image dominated by an artificial, laser-driven muon beam. The technique could cut dense-material scans from months to minutes, enabling fast non-destructive inspection.

• The laser accelerates electrons through gas, which strike a solid target to create muon pairs
• About 90% of detected high-energy particles matched simulated muons of a few GeV
• Natural muography yields ~1 muon per cm² per second; laser bursts produce millions in split seconds
• Scans that once took half a year could shrink to minutes