Development of negative muon data analysis through measurements of standard samples

In the past few years, the interest around the use of negative muons for the characterisation of archaeological material has grown rapidly. With negative muons, users can perform both compositional analysis and depth profiling, thanks to the depth-selective penetration of the muon beam. Many samples have been measured at the ISIS facility, with great interest towards metallic materials. However, given the novelty of the technique (called Muonic atom X-ray Emission spectroscopy - µ-XES) very few benchmark tests - that can be used as a reference for material investigation - have been performed over the last years. Here, we propose the measurement of different kinds of standard: gilded copper and copper alloys. The first will be used for the development of the data analysis coupled with Monte Carlo simulations: the standars sample will be modelled in two different simulation software to evaluate the capabilities of the two software to reproduce negative muon data. The second will be used for reproducing reliable calibration curves and to evaluate the variation of copper content in a multi-layered structure. With this work, we aim to provide an improvement to the data analysis and data interpretation of a negative muon experiment.