The MURAVES muon telescope: technology and expected performances

The MURAVES project aims to study the inner structure of the upper
part of the Mt. Vesuvius volcano by muon radiography (muography)
technique. Very high energy muons, produced by cosmic rays in the at-
mosphere, can penetrate large thickness of rocks. By measuring the at-
tenuation of the muons flux trough the volcano cone is possible to obtain
a 2D image of the density structure. Internal discontinuities, with a spa-
tial resolution of about 10 m, can be, in principle, resolved. An absolute
average density measurement can be provided too. The project, funded by
the Italian Ministry of University, Research and Education (MIUR), is led
by INGV and INFN. In this article the mechanical structure of the de-
tectors and background suppression techniques are reported.