Konstantinos Kousouris

Hypothetical axionlike particles with a two-photon interaction would be produced in the sun by the Primakoff process. In a laboratory magnetic field ("axion helioscope"), they would be transformed into x-rays with energies of a few keV. Using a decommissioned Large Hadron Collider test magnet, the CERN Axion Solar Telescope ran for about 6 months during 2003. The first results from the analysis of these data are presented here. No signal above background was observed, implying an upper limit to the axion-photon coupling g(agamma)<1.16x10(-10) GeV-1 at 95% C.L. for m(a) less, similar 0.02 eV. This limit, assumption-free, is comparable to the limit from stellar energy-loss arguments and considerably more restrictive than any previous experiment over a broad range of axion masses.

The International Axion Observatory (IAXO) will be a forth generation axion helioscope. As its primary physics goal, IAXO will look for axions or axion-like particles (ALPs) originating in the Sun via the Primakoff conversion of the solar plasma photons. In terms of signal-to-noise ratio, IAXO will be about 4–5 orders of magnitude more sensitive than CAST, currently the most powerful axion helioscope, reaching sensitivity to axion-photon couplings down to a few × 10−12 GeV−1 and thus probing a large fraction of the currently unexplored axion and ALP parameter space. IAXO will also be sensitive to solar axions produced by mechanisms mediated by the axion-electron coupling gae with sensitivity — for the first time — to values of gae not previously excluded by astrophysics. With several other possible physics cases, IAXO has the potential to serve as a multi-purpose facility for generic axion and ALP research in the next decade. In this paper we present the conceptual design of IAXO, which follows the layout of an enhanced axion helioscope, based on a purpose-built 20 m-long 8-coils toroidal superconducting magnet. All the eight 60cm-diameter magnet bores are equipped with focusing x-ray optics, able to focus the signal photons into ∼ 0.2 cm2 spots that are imaged by ultra-low-background Micromegas x-ray detectors. The magnet is built into a structure with elevation and azimuth drives that will allow for solar tracking for ∼ 12 h each day.

We have searched for solar axions or similar particles that couple to two photons by using the CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST) setup with improved conditions in all detectors. From the absence of excess X-rays when the magnet was pointing to the Sun, we set an upper limit on the axion-photon coupling of 8.8 x 10^{-11} GeV^{-1} at 95% CL for m_a <~ 0.02 eV. This result is the best experimental limit over a broad range of axion masses and for m_a <~ 0.02 eV also supersedes the previous limit derived from energy-loss arguments on globular-cluster stars.

We have searched for solar axions or other pseudoscalar particles that couple to two photons by using the CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST) setup. Whereas we previously have reported results from CAST with evacuated magnet bores (Phase I), setting limits on lower mass axions, here we report results from CAST where the magnet bores were filled with 4He gas (Phase II) of variable pressure. The introduction of gas generates a refractive photon mass mγ, thereby achieving the maximum possible conversion rate for those axion masses ma that match mγ. With 160 different pressure settings we have scanned ma up to about 0.4 eV, taking approximately 2 h of data for each setting. From the absence of excess x-rays when the magnet was pointing to the Sun, we set a typical upper limit on the axion-photon coupling of gaγ≲2.2 × 10−10 GeV−1 at 95% CL for ma≲0.4 eV, the exact result depending on the pressure setting. The excluded parameter range covers realistic axion models with a Peccei-Quinn scale in the neighborhood of fa ∼ 107 GeV. Currently in the second part of CAST Phase II, we are searching for axions with masses up to about 1.2 eV using 3He as a buffer gas.

We review the experimental searches for new particles in the dijet mass spectrum conducted at the CERN SppS, the Fermilab Tevatron Collider, and the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The theory of the QCD background and new particle signals is reviewed, with emphasis on the choices made by the experiments to model the background and signal. The experimental techniques, data, and results of dijet resonance searches at hadron colliders over the last quarter century are described and compared. Model independent and model specific limits on new particles decaying to dijets are reviewed, and a detailed comparison is made of the recently published limits from the ATLAS and CMS experiments.

In non-hadronic axion models, which have a tree-level axion-electron interaction, the Sun produces a strong axion flux by bremsstrahlung, Compton scattering, and axio-recombination, the ``BCA processes.'' Based on a new calculation of this flux, including for the first time axio-recombination, we derive limits on the axion-electron Yukawa coupling gae and axion-photon interaction strength gaγ using the CAST phase-I data (vacuum phase). For ma≲10 meV/c2 we find gaγ gae < 8.1 × 10−23 GeV−1 at 95% CL. We stress that a next-generation axion helioscope such as the proposed IAXO could push this sensitivity into a range beyond stellar energy-loss limits and test the hypothesis that white-dwarf cooling is dominated by axion emission.

A low-background Micromegas detector has been operating in the CAST experiment at CERN for the search for solar axions during the first phase of the experiment (2002–2004). The detector, made out of low radioactivity materials, operated efficiently and achieved a very high level of background rejection (5 × 10−5 counts keV−1 cm−2 s−1) without shielding.

We show that critical opalescence, a clear signature of second-order phase transition in conventional matter, manifests itself as critical intermittency in QCD matter produced in experiments with nuclei. This behavior is revealed in transverse momentum spectra as a pattern of power laws in factorial moments, to all orders, associated with baryon production. This phenomenon together with a similar effect in the isoscalar sector of pions (sigma mode) provide us with a set of observables associated with the search for the QCD critical point in experiments with nuclei at high energies.

We have searched for 14.4 keV solar axions or more general axion-like particles (ALPs), that may be emitted in the M1 nuclear transition of 57Fe, by using the axion-to-photon conversion in the CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST) with evacuated magnet bores (Phase I). From the absence of excess of the monoenergetic X-rays when the magnet was pointing to the Sun, we set model-independent constraints on the coupling constants of pseudoscalar particles that couple to two photons and to a nucleon gaγ|−1.19gaN0+gaN3| < 1.36 × 10−16 GeV−1 for ma < 0.03 eV at the 95% confidence level.

MICROMEGAS detectors have been running in the CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST) experiment since 2002. The detector, constructed of low radioactivity materials, operated efficiently exploiting its good spatial and energy resolution of the detector as well as the time information contained in the pulse shape of the events. Last year Microbulk detectors were installed in the experiment achieving very low background levels thanks to the improved performances of the detector as well as the upgraded shielding. The performance during 2008 data-taking and recent background studies will be presented.

We present the results of a search for a high-energy axion emission signal from 7Li (0.478 MeV) and D(p,gamma)3He (5.5 MeV) nuclear transitions using a low-background gamma-ray calorimeter during Phase I of the CAST experiment. These so-called "hadronic axions" could provide a solution to the long-standing strong-CP problem and can be emitted from the solar core from nuclear M1 transitions. This is the first such search for high-energy pseudoscalar bosons with couplings to nucleons conducted using a helioscope approach. No excess signal above background was found.

MICROMEGAS detectors have been running in the CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST) experiment since 2002. The detector, constructed of low radioactivity materials, operated efficiently exploiting its good spatial and energy resolution of the detector as well as the time information contained in the pulse shape of the events. Last year Microbulk detectors were installed in the experiment achieving very low background levels thanks to the improved performances of the detector as well as the upgraded shielding. The performance during 2008 data-taking and recent background studies will be presented.

A low background Micromegas detector has been operating in the CAST experiment at CERN for the search of solar axions since the start of data taking in 2002. The detector, made out of low radioactivity materials, operated efficiently and achieved a very low level of background (5×10-5 keV-1-cm-2-s-1) without any shielding. New manufacturing techniques (Bulk/Microbulk) have led to further improvement of the characteristics of the detector such as uniformity, stability and energy resolution. These characteristics, the implementation of passive shielding and the improvement of the analysis algorithms have dramatically reduced the background level (2×10-7 keV-1-cm-2∣s-1), improving thus the overall sensitivity of the experiment and opening new possibilities for future searches.

This Letter of Intent describes IAXO, the International Axion Observatory, a proposed 4th generation axion helioscope. As its primary physics goal, IAXO will look for axions or axion-like particles (ALPs) originating in the Sun via the Primakoff conversion of the solar plasma photons. In terms of signal to background ratio, IAXO will be about 4-5 orders of magnitude more sensitive than CAST, which means that this instrument will reach sensitivity to axion-photon couplings down to a few ×10−12 GeV−1. IAXO has the potential for the discovery of axions and other ALPs, since it will deeply enter into unexplored parameter space. At the very least it will firmly exclude a large region of this space of high cosmological and astrophysical relevance. In particular it will probe a large fraction of the high mass part (1 meV to 1 eV) of the QCD axion allowed window. Additional physics cases for IAXO include the possibility of detecting solar axions produced by mechanisms mediated by the axion-electron coupling gae with sensitivity −for the first time− to values of gae not previously excluded by astrophysics. IAXO follows the conceptual layout of an enhanced axion helioscope, with a purpose-built 8-coils toroidal superconducting magnet. All the eight 60-cm diameter magnet bores are equipped with focusing x-ray optics, able to focus the signal photons into ∼0.2 cm2 spots that are imaged by ultra-low-background Micromegas x-ray detectors. The magnet is built into a structure with elevation and azimuth drives the will allow for solar tracking for ∼12 h each day. All the enabling technologies exists, there is no need for development. All the needed know-how is present in the proponent groups. Potential additional physics cases for IAXO to be developed in the future are the search of axionic dark radiation, relic cold dark matter axions or the realization of microwave light-shining-through wall setups, as well as the search of more specific models of weakly interacting sub-eV particles (WISPs) at the low energy frontier of particle physics. IAXO has the potential to serve as a multi-purpose facility for generic axion and ALP research in the next decade.

The International Axion Observatory (IAXO) is a proposed 4th-generation axion helioscope with the primary physics research goal to search for solar axions via their Primakoff conversion into photons of 1 – 10 keV energies in a strong magnetic field. IAXO will achieve a sensitivity to the axion-photon coupling gaγ down to a few ×10−12 GeV−1 for a wide range of axion masses up to ∼ 0.25 eV. This is an improvement over the currently best (3rd generation) axion helioscope, the CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST), of about 5 orders of magnitude in signal strength, corresponding to a factor ∼ 20 in the axion photon coupling. IAXO's sensitivity relies on the construction of a large superconducting 8-coil toroidal magnet of 20 m length optimized for axion research. Each of the eight 60 cm diameter magnet bores is equipped with x-ray optics focusing the signal photons into ∼ 0.2 cm2 spots that are imaged by very low background x-ray detectors. The magnet will be built into a structure with elevation and azimuth drives that will allow solar tracking for 12 hours each day. This contribution is a summary of our papers [1], [2], [3] and we refer to these for further details.

The CMS Combined Software and Analysis Challenge 2007 (CSA07) is well underway and expected to produce a wealth of physics analyses to be applied to the first incoming detector data in 2008. The JetMET group of CMS supports four different jet clustering algorithms for the CSA07 Monte Carlo samples, with two different parameterizations each: Fast kT, SISCone, MidPoint Cone, and Iterative Cone. We present several studies comparing the performance of these algorithms using QCD dijet andt t Monte Carlo samples. We specifically observe that the SISCone algorithm performs equal to or better than the Midpoint Cone algorithm in all presented studies and propose that SISCone be adopted

The compact muon solenoid (CMS) experiment will use dijets to search for physics beyond the standard model during early LHC running. The inclusive jet cross section as a function of jet transverse momentum, with 10 pb−1 of integrated luminosity, is sensitive to contact interactions beyond the reach of the Tevatron. The dijet mass distribution will be used to search for dijet resonances coming from new particles, for example an excited quark. Additional sensitivity to the existence of contact interactions or dijet resonances can be obtained by comparing dijet rates in two distinct pseudorapidity regions.

A novel low-energy ($\sim$few keV) neutrino-oscillation experiment NOSTOS, combining a strong tritium source and a high pressure spherical Time Projection Chamber (TPC) detector 10 m in radius has been recently proposed. The oscillation of neutrinos of such energies occurs within the size of the detector itself, potentially allowing for a very precise (and rather systematics-free) measure of the oscillation parameters, in particular, of the smaller mixing angle $\theta_{13}$, which value could be determined for the first time. This detector could also be sensitive to the neutrino magnetic moment and be capable of accurately measure the Weinberg angle at low energy. The same apparatus, filled with high pressure Xenon, exhibits a high sensitivity as a Super Nova neutrino detector with extra galactic sensitivity. The outstanding benefits of the new concept of the spherical TPC will be presented, as well as the issues to be demonstrated in the near future by an ongoing R&D. The very first results of small prototype in operation in Saclay are shown.

The gaseous micromegas detector designed for the CERN Axion search experiment CAST, operated smoothly during Phase-I, which included the 2003 and 2004 running periods. It exhibited linear response in the energy range of interest (1–10 keV), good spatial sensitivity and energy resolution (15–19% FWHM at 5.9 keV) as well as remarkable stability. The detector's upgrade for the 2004 run, supported by the development of advanced offline analysis tools, improved the background rejection capability, leading to an average rate 5×10−5 counts/s/cm2/keV with 94% cut efficiency. Also, the origin of the detected background was studied with a Monte-Carlo simulation, using the GEANT4 package.

Although they have not yet been detected, axions and axion-like particles (ALPs) continue to maintain the interest (even increasingly so) of the rare-event searches community as viable candidates for the Dark Matter of the Universe but also as a solution for several other puzzles of astrophysics. Their property of coupling to photons has inspired different experimental methods for their detection, one of which is the helioscope technique. The CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST) is the most sensitive helioscope built up to date and has recently published part of the latest data taken with the magnet bores gradually filled with 3He, probing the mass range up to 1.17 eV. The International AXion Observatory (IAXO) is being proposed as a facility where different axion studies can be performed, with the primary goal to study axions coming from the Sun. Designed to maximize sensitivity, it will improve the levels reached by CAST by almost 5 orders of magnitude in signal detection, that is more than one order of magnitude in terms of gaγ. Here we will summarize the most important aspects of the helioscopes, and focus mainly on IAXO, based on the recent papers [1, 2].

This is a study concerning the use of Machine Learning (ML) techniques to ascertain the impacts of particle ionizing radiation (IR) on cell survival and DNA damage. Current empirical models do not always take into account intrinsic complexities and stochastic effects of the interactions of IR and cell populations. Furthermore, these models often lack in biophysical interpretations of the irradiation outcomes. The linear quadratic (LQ) model is a common way to associate the biological response of a cell population with the radiation dose. The parameters of the LQ model are used to extrapolate the relation between the dosage and the survival fraction of a cell population. The goal was to create a ML-based model that predicts the α and β parameters of the well known and established LQ model, along with the key metrics of DNA damage induction. The main target of this effort was, on the one hand, the development of a computational framework that will be able to assess key radiobiophysical quantities, and on the other hand, to provide meaningful interpretations of the outputs. Based on our results, as some metrics of the adaptability and training efficiency, our ML models exhibited 0.18 median error (relative root mean squared error (RRMSE)) in the prediction of the α parameter and errors of less than 0.01 for various DNA damage quantities; the prediction for β exhibited a rather large error of 0.75. Our study is based on experimental data from a publicly available dataset of irradiation studies. All types of complex DNA damage (all clusters), and the number of double-stranded breaks (DSBs), which are widely accepted to be closely related to cell survival and the detrimental biological effects of IR, were calculated using the fast Monte Carlo Damage Simulation software (MCDS). We critically discussed the varying importance of physical parameters such as charge and linear energy transfer (LET); we also discussed the uncertainties of our predictions and future directions, and the dynamics of our approach.

The Micromegas (Micromesh Gaseous) detector technology was developed by I. Giomataris and G. Charpak, in the mid 90s, for applications in the field of experimental Particle Physics. The most recent development is a novel Micromegas detector designed to detect photons of energies 1–10 keV (X-ray range), for a discovery experiment of the hypothetical particles called axions, installed and currently taking data at CERN (the European Laboratory for Particle Research in Geneva). This detector has an X–Y readout capability of resolution less than 100 μm, an energy resolution down to 14%, for this energy range, and an overall efficiency of 70%. With planned modifications, similar performances can be achieved for operation in the energy regime of the technetium gammas. This could lead to a novel γ-ray imaging device with spatial resolution in the submillimeter range. Initial results are presented obtained using the current detector with a parallel hole collimator to image thin capillary phantoms filled with a 99mTc water solution.

A low background Micromegas detector has been operating on the Cern Axion Solar Telescope (CAST) experiment at CERN for the search of solar axions during the first phase of the experiment. The detector operated efficiently and achieved a very low level of background rejection (5×10-5countskeV-1cm-2s-1) thanks to its good spatial and energy resolution as well as the low radioactivity materials used in the construction of the detector. For the second phase of the experiment, the detector is being upgraded by adding a shielding and including focusing optics. These improvements should allow for a background rejection better than two orders of magnitude. The preliminary results of the first tests in the laboratory and in the PANTER X-ray test facility will be shown.

The new concept of the spherical TPC aims at relatively large target masses with low threshold and background, keeping an extremely simple and robust operation. Such a device would open the way to detect the neutrino-nucleus interaction, which, although a standard process, remains undetected due to the low energy of the neutrino-induced nuclear recoils. The progress in the development of the fist 1 m$^3$ prototype at Saclay is presented. Other physics goals of such a device could include supernova detection, low energy neutrino oscillations and study of non-standard properties of the neutrino, among others.

1. European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Gen`eve, Switzerland2. DAPNIA, Centre d’´Etudes Nucl´eaires de Saclay (CEA-Saclay), Gif-sur-Yvett e, France3. Technische Universita¨t Darmstadt, IKP, Darmstadt, Germany4. Max-Planck-Institut fu¨r extraterrestrische Physik, Garching, Germany5. Instituto de F´isica Nuclear y Altas Energ´ias, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain6. Enrico Fermi Institute and KICP, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA7. Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece8. National Center for Scientific Research “Demokritos”, Athens, Greece9. Albert-Ludwigs-Universita¨t Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany10. Institute for Nuclear Research (INR), Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia11. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Department of Physics, Vancouver,Canada12. Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universita¨t, Institut fu¨r Angewandte Physik, Frankfurt am Main, Germany13. Max-Planck-Institut fu¨r Physik (Werner-Heisenberg-Institut), Munich, Germany14. Rudjer Boˇskovi´c Institute, Zagreb, Croatia15. Physics Department, University of Patras, Patras, Greece16. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA17. Dogus University, Istanbul, Turkey18. Instituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Sezione di Trieste and Universita` di Trieste, Trieste, Italy19. Max-Planck-Institut fu¨r Aeronomie, Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany20. National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece

Jet observables have been exploited extensively during the LHC Run 1 to search for physics beyond the Standard Model. In this article, the most recent results from the ATLAS and CMS collaborations are summarized. Data from proton–proton collisions at 7 and 8 TeV center-of-mass energy have been analyzed to study monojet, dijet, and multijet final states, searching for a variety of new physics signals that include colored resonances, contact interactions, extra dimensions, and supersymmetric particles. The exhaustive searches with jets in Run 1 did not reveal any signal, and the results were used to put stringent exclusion limits on the new physics models.

The IAXO (International Axion Experiment) is a fourth generation helioscope with a sensitivity, in terms of detectable signal counts, at least 104 better than CAST phase-I, resulting in sensitivity on gaγ one order of magnitude better. To achieve this performance IAXO will count on a 8-coil toroidal magnet with 60 cm diameter bores and equipped with X-ray focusing optics into 0.20 cm2 spots coupled to ultra-low background Micromegas X-ray detectors. The magnet will be on a platform that will allow solar tracking for 12 hours per day. The next short term objectives are to prepare a Technical Design Report and to construct the first prototypes of the hardware main ingredients: demonstration coil, X-ray optics and low background detector while refining the physics case and studying the feasibility studies for Dark Matter axions.

The CAST (CERN Axion Solar Telescope) experiment is searching for solar axions by their conversion into photons inside the magnet pipe of an LHC dipole. The analysis of the data recorded during the first phase of the experiment with vacuum in the magnet pipes has resulted in the most restrictive experimental limit on the coupling constant of axions to photons. In the second phase, CAST is operating with a buffer gas inside the magnet pipes in order to extent the sensitivity of the experiment to higher axion masses. We will present the first results on the $^{4}{\rm He}$ data taking as well as the system upgrades that have been operated in the last year in order to adapt the experiment for the $^{3}{\rm He}$ data taking. Expected sensitivities on the coupling constant of axions to photons will be given for the recent $^{3}{\rm He}$ run just started in March 2008.

The CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST) is searching for solar axions using the 9.0 T strong and 9.26 m long transverse magnetic field of a twin aperture LHC test magnet, where axions could be converted into X-rays via reverse Primakoff process. Here we explore the potential of CAST to search for 14.4 keV axions that could be emitted from the Sun in M1 nuclear transition between the first, thermally excited state, and the ground state of 57Fe nuclide. Calculations of the expected signals, with respect to the axion-photon coupling, axion-nucleon coupling and axion mass, are presented in comparison with the experimental sensitivity.

Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Twitter Facebook Reddit LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Reprints and Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation S. Andriamonje, S. Aune, K. Barth, A. Belov, B. Beltrán, H. Bräuninger, J. M. Carmona, S. Cebrián, J. I. Collar, T. Dafni, M. Davenport, L. Di Lella, C. Eleftheriadis, J. Englhauser, G. Fanourakis, E. Ferrer‐Ribas, H. Fischer, J. Franz, P. Friedrich, T. Geralis, I. Giomataris, S. Gninenko, M. D. Hasinoff, F. H. Heinsius, D. H. H. Hoffmann, I. G. Irastorza, J. Jacoby, K. Jakovčić, D. Kang, K. Königsmann, R. Kotthaus, M. Krčmar, K. Kousouris, M. Kuster, B. Lakić, C. Lasseur, A. Liolios, A. Ljubičić, G. Lutz, G. Luzón, D. W. Miller, A. Morales, J. Morales, A. Ortiz, T. Papaevangelou, A. Placci, G. Raffelt, J. Ruz, H. Riege, P. Serpico, L. Stewart, J. D. Vieira, J. Villar, J. Vogel, L. Walckiers, K. Zioutas; Search for solar axions: the CAST experiment. AIP Conf. Proc. 28 November 2006; 878 (1): 395–401. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2409111 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAIP Publishing PortfolioAIP Conference Proceedings Search Advanced Search |Citation Search

A low background Micromegas X-ray detector has been used to search for solar axions in the CAST experiment at CERN. The detector has an active area of 7cm times 7cm, excellent spatial resolution (~70nm), and good energy resolution. It is built using low radioactivity materials and the obtained background level is below 5times10 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">-5</sup> counts/keV/cm <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> /s. The detector is being upgraded for the second phase of the experiment (2006-2007) with a reduced active area. A focusing X-Ray optic and improved shielding will be used to further reduce the background by approximately two orders of magnitude.

The CAST Experiment commenced its first phase of solar axion-searching in 2003, and ran successfully for two years. In the transverse field of a decommissioned Large Hadron Collider (LHC) test magnet (9.26m, 9T), the CERN Axion Solar Telescope intends to transform axions -that would be produced in the sun- into X-rays with energies of a few keV. The first results from the analysis of the data taken in 2003 show no signature of axions, implying an upper limit to the axion-photon coupling gaγ ⩽ 1.16 × 10−10 GeV−1 at 95% C.L. for ma < 0.02 eV, already a factor 100 better than previous searches. In Phase I the twin bores of the magnet were kept in vacuum. In Phase II (due to start in November 2005) the bores of the magnet will be filled with a buffer gas, which will allow CAST to explore the region of higher axion masses.

QCD measurements with jets are presented, from proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV at the CERN LHC. The data were collected with the CMS detector during the 2010 data-taking period, and correspond up to an integrated luminos of 36 pb−1. The measured inclusive-jet and dijet production cross sections are compared to perturbative QCD predictions at next-to-leading-order, and are found to be in good agreeme Observables sensitive to multijet production, such as the hadronic event shapes, the dijet azimuthal decorrelations, and the ratio of the 3-jet to 2-jet production cross section, are compared to the predictions of various QCD Monte-Carlo generators.

A search for new Physics is performed with inclusive dijet final states in pp collisions, using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 120 ± 13 nb -1 collected by the CMS experiment at LHC. Generic upper limits at the 95% confidence level (CL) are presented on the product of the resonance cross section, branching fraction into dijets, and acceptance, separately for decays into quark-quark, quark-gluon, or gluon-gluon pairs.The data exclude new particles predicted in the following models at the 95% CL: string resonances, with mass less than 1.67 TeV, excited quarks, with mass less than 0.59 TeV and axigluons and colorons with mass less than 0.52 TeV.A search for quark compositeness in the form of quark contact interactions is conducted using the dijet centrality ratio, which quantifies the angular distribution of the dijets.The measurement is found to agree with the predictions of the Standard Model and the statistical analysis of the data provides a lower limit on the energy scale of quark contact interactions of 1.9 TeV at the 95% confidence level.The above results extend previously published limits on these models.

A search for new Physics is performed with inclusive dijet final states in pp collisions, using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 120 {+-} 13 nb{sup -1} collected by the CMS experiment at LHC. Generic upper limits at the 95% confidence level (CL) are presented on the product of the resonance cross section, branching fraction into dijets, and acceptance, separately for decays into quark-quark, quark-gluon, or gluon-gluon pairs. The data exclude new particles predicted in the following models at the 95% CL: string resonances, with mass less than 1.67 TeV, excited quarks, with mass less than 0.59 TeV and axigluons and colorons with mass less than 0.52 TeV. A search for quark compositeness in the form of quark contact interactions is conducted using the dijet centrality ratio, which quantifies the angular distribution of the dijets. The measurement is found to agree with the predictions of the Standard Model and the statistical analysis of the data provides a lower limit on the energy scale of quark contact interactions of 1.9 TeV at the 95% confidence level. The above results extend previously published limits on these models.

The jet reconstruction and jet energy calibration strategies adopted by the CMS and ATLAS experiments are presented. Jet measurements that can be done with early data to confront QCD at the highest transverse momentum scale and search for new physics are described.

Boydag, Fatma Senel (Dogus Author), Cetin, Serkant Ali (Dogus Author), Hikmet, Iskender (Dogus Author) -- Proceedings of the 34th International Conference in High Energy Physics : (ICHEP08) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 29 - August 5, 2008.

The CAST (CERN Axion Solar Telescope) experiment at CERN searches for solar axions with energies in the keV range. It is possible that axions are produced in the core of the sun by the interaction of thermal photons with virtual photons of strong electromagnetic fields. In this experiment, the solar axions can be reconverted to photons in the transversal field of a 9 Tesla superconducting magnet. At both ends of the 10m-long dipole magnet three different X-ray detectors were installed, which are sensitive in the interesting photon energy range. Preliminary results from the analysis of the 2004 data are presented: g$_{a\gamma}<0.9\times10^{-10}$ GeV$^{-1}$ at 95% C.L. for axion masses m$_{a} <$ 0.02 eV. At the end of 2005, data started to be taken with a buffer gas in the magnet pipes in order to extend the sensitivity to axion masses up to 0.8 eV.

We have started the development of a detector system, sensitive to single photons in the eV energy range, to be suitably coupled to one of the CAST magnet ports. This system should open to CAST a window on possible detection of low energy Axion Like Particles emitted by the sun. Preliminary tests have involved a cooled photomultiplier tube coupled to the CAST magnet via a Galileian telescope and a switched 40 m long optical fiber. This system has reached the limit background level of the detector alone in ideal conditions, and two solar tracking runs have been performed with it at CAST. Such a measurement has never been done before with an axion helioscope. We will present results from these runs and briefly discuss future detector developments.

The CAST experiment at CERN is the only running solar axion telescope. The first results obtained so far with CAST — PHASE I is presented, which compete with the best astrophysically derived limits of the axion‐to‐photon coupling. The ongoing PHASE II of the experiment as well as the scheduled upgrades, which improve the axion discovery potential of CAST, are discussed.

The Micromegas technology can be used to construct very powerful detectors for low background, low energy measurements. A Micromegas X-ray detector has been used to search for solar axions in the CAST experiment at CERN. The detector has an active area of 7 cm × 7 cm, a very good x-y position, and a good energy resolution. It is built using low radioactivity materials and it is capable of low energy X-ray measurements of a few hundred eV. Despite the lack of external shielding the obtained background level is below 5 × 105 counts/keV/cm2/s. The detector is being upgraded with a reduced active area Micromegas module, a focusing X-Ray telescope and shielding, which are expected to further reduce the background by about two orders of magnitude.

A low background Micromegas detector has been operating on the CAST experiment at CERN for the search of solar axions during the first phase of the experiment (2002-2004). The detector operated efficiently and achieved a very low level of background rejection ($5\times 10^{-5}$ counts keV$^{-1}$cm$^{-2}$s$^{-1}$) thanks to its good spatial and energy resolution as well as the low radioactivity materials used in the construction of the detector. For the second phase of the experiment (2005-2007), the detector will be upgraded by adding a shielding and including focusing optics. These improvements should allow for a background rejection better than two orders of magnitude.

Hypothetical axion-like particles with a two-photon interaction would be produced in the sun by the Primakoff process. In a laboratory magnetic field they would be transformed into X-rays with energies of a few keV. The CAST experiment at CERN is using a decommissioned LHC magnet as an axion helioscope in order to search for these axion-like particles. The analysis of the 2003 data has shown no signal above the background, thus implying an upper limit to the axion-photon coupling < $1.16*10^{-10} GeV^{-1}$ at 95% CL for $m_{a}$ <~ 0.02 eV. The stable operation of the experiment during 2004 data taking allow us to anticipate that this value will be improved. At the end of 2005 we expect to start with the so-called second phase of CAST, when the magnet pipes will be filled with a buffer gas so that the axion-photon coherence will be extended. In this way we will be able to search for axions with masses up to 1 eV.

The gaseous Micromegas detector designed for the CERN Axion search experiment CAST, operated smoothly during Phase-I, which included the 2003 and 2004 running periods. It exhibited linear response in the energy range of interest (1-10keV), good spatial sensitivity and energy resolution (15-19% FWHM at 5.9keV)as well as remarkable stability. The detector's upgrade for the 2004 run, supported by the development of advanced offline analysis tools, improved the background rejection capability, leading to an average rate 5x10^-5 counts/sec/cm^2/keV with 94% cut efficiency. Also, the origin of the detected background was studied with a Monte Carlo simulation, using the GEANT4 package.