Threshold Analysis of Momentum and Position Accuracies in Muon Scattering Tomography of Loaded Dry Storage Casks

Muon scattering tomography (MST) has gained interest in nuclear waste management, offering a promising alternative to conventional non-destructive imaging methods for examining the interior of nuclear waste storage. While the success of MST relies on precise measurements of muon momentum and position—factors that directly influence the observed scattering angles—improving the accuracy of these measurements often increases the complexity of detector systems. This research focuses on determining the fundamental resolution limits for muon momentum and position measurements, beyond which further improvements no longer significantly enhance MST accuracy. We examine spatial resolutions for muon position ranging from sub-millimeter to centimeters and momentum resolutions from 1 keV to 1 GeV. A statistical approach is employed to assess the impact of varying levels of momentum and position resolution on the effectiveness of MST. By using Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Anderson-Darling, and Kuiper's statistical hypothesis tests, we can identify the resolution thresholds where further improvements become statistically insignificant. These findings provide practical guidelines for determining the optimal resolution of momentum and spatial measurements. We anticipate that these results will inform engineering decisions and contribute to the standardization of muon tomography practices in large-scale industrial and scientific applications.