Reconstruction Methods for Micromagnetic Tomography

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Christian Gerhards
• Subject Area: Mathematics ; Geophysics
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 551712198

Micromagnetic Tomography (MMT) is an emerging approach in paleomagnetic research that combines scanning magnetic microscopy (SMM) with micro computed tomography (microCT) to obtain information on the underlying magnetization at grain level within a rock sample. Complications can arise due to undetected grains below the microCT resolution and due to large multi-domain grains that are often not considered carriers of reliable paleomagnetic information. Both aspects, together with the underlying non-uniqueness, cause significant problems for current inversion algorithms. The proposed project aims at investigating the possibilities of separating magnetic field contributions and reconstructing underlying magnetization components within a single grain, without requiring information on the remaining grains in the rock sample. Thus, it circumvents several of the major problems indicated above. At a first stage, we intend to consider the reconstruction of net magnetic moments. Subsequently, the problem of more complex magnetization contributions and the separation of the corresponding magnetic field is being addressed. All this shall be embedded in a mathematical framework that provides theoretical guarantees for the reconstruction.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants