Nuclear Physics B (Proc. Suppl.) 110 (2002) 85-87
www.elsevier.com/locatelnpe
THE CERN AXION SOLAR TELESCOPE (CAST)
C.E. Aalsetha, b, E. ArikC, D. Autierod, F.T. Avignone IIIb, K. Barthd, SM. Bowyera, H. Brauningere, R.L. Brodzinskia, J.M. Carmonaf, S. Cebrianf, G. CelebiC, S. CetinC, J.I. Collars, R. Creswickb, A.
Delbarth, M. Delattred, L. DiLellad, R. De Oliveirad, Ch. Eleftheriadis’, N. Erdutand, G. Fanourakisj, H.A. Farachb, C. Fiorinik, Th. Geralisj, I. Giomatarish, T.A. Girard’, S.N. Gninenkom, N.A. Golubevm, M. Hasinof?, D. Hoffmann”, I.G. Irastorzab,f, J. Jacoby”, F. Jeanneauh, M.A. Knopfa, A.V.
Kovzelevm, R. Kotthausn, M. KrEmarq, Z. KreEakq, B. Laki?, A. Liolios’, A. Ljubicicq, G. LutzP, A.
Longonik, G. Luzonf, A. MailovC V.A. Matveevm, H.S. Mileya, A. Moralesf, J. Morales’, M. Mutterer’, A. Nikolaidis’, S. Nussinov’, A. Ortizf, W.K. Pittsa, A. Placcid, V.E. Postoevm, G.G. R&felts, H.
Rieged, M. Sampietok, M. Sarsa’, I. Sawidis’, M. StipEevit q, C.W. Thorn&‘, R.C. Thompson*, P.
Valco’, J.A. Villarf, B. Villiermed, L. Walckiersd, W. Wilcox*, K. Zachariadou’, and K. Zioutasd:
aPacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA 99352, USA bUniversity of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, USA CBogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey
dEuropean Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)Geneva, Switzerland eMax-Planck-Institut fiir Extraterrestrische Physik, Garshing, Germany fUniversidad de Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
sEnrico Fermi Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago,Illinois 60637, USA hCentre d’Etudes de Saclay, Gif-Sur-Yvette, France
‘Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-54006 Thessaloniki, Greece 1Nationa.l Research Center for Physical Sciences, Demokritos, 60228 Greece kPolitecnico di Milano, Italy
‘Universidade de Lisboa Lisboa, Portugal mInstitute for Nuclear Research Moscow, Russia
“University of British Columbia, Vancouver,BC, Canada
“Technische Universitat Darmstadt, Institut fiir Kernphysik, 64289 Darmstsdt, Germany PMsx-Planck-Institut fiir Physik, Muenchen, Germany
qRuder Boskovic Institute, HR-10002 Zagreb, Croatia
‘Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv Israel
*Max-Planck-Institut fiir Physik, Werner-Heisenberg-Institut 80805 Muenchen, Germany tUniversity of Thessaloniki, GR-54006 Thessaloniki, Greece
A decommissioned LHC test magnet is being prepared ss the CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST) experiment.
The magnet has a field of 9.6 Tesla and length of 10 meters. It is being mounted on a platform to track the sun over f8’ vertically and f45’, horizontally. A sensitivity in axion-photon coupling ga7-, < 5 x 10-‘lGeV-l can be reached for ma 5 lo-‘eV, and with a gas filled tubecan reach g a-,7 5 10-‘“GeV-’ for axion masses m, < 2eV.
0920-5632/02/$ - see front matter 0 2002 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.
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86 C.E. Aalseth et al. /Nuclear Physics B (Proc. Suppl.) 110 (2002) 85-87
1. Introduction
Since the first introduction of sxions [1,2] to address the strong CP problem [3], there have been many experimental searches. There is an excellent pedagogical article by Sikivie [4] and a recent report on axions [5] that contains much of the work on previous searches. The physics involved in searches utilizing the Primakoff pro- cess appears in articles by Sikivie [6], B.&felt and Stodolsky [7] and van Bibber et al. [S]. There have been two previous experiments using mag- nets to search for solar axions [9,10]. The CAST experiment was proposed in an article by Zioutas et al. [ll]. In this short note, we give a brief update and status of the experiment. The CAST instrument is a N 10T magnet, 10m in length. It is being mounted on a platform that can track the sun over a vertical angle of Ho, and horizontal angle of f45O.
2. Coherence
The probability that an axion going through the transverse magnetic field, B, over a length, L, will convert to a photon is:
P ay = 1.8 x lo-l7( &)2(&z
hrr x 1010GeV-1)2]M]2, (I) where,
= 20 - cmqL)
k7Lj2 . (2)
In eq.(2), q = I/c, - k,l, the momen- tum exchange. If the axion has mass, m,, W,(z) = L-+ei”az will fall out of phase with a,(z) = L-+eikf+, by X/2 after traversing L, = 2nftc(hw)/m~c4, the coherence length. This oc- curs when qL = x. For the 10m long CAST mag- net, this occurs for an axion energy Ea = 4keV for a mass of N 10m2eV/c2. To search for ax- ions more massive, it is necessary to fill the beam pipe inside the magnet with a gas to “slow” the photons, so that they remain in phase with the
axions. It is easily shown that the plasma fre- quency in the gas is wi = 4?rn,r0c2, where n, is the spatial density of electrons, r0 is the clas- sical electron radius, and c is the speed of light in vacuum [12]. One can then write the effective mass of a photon in a gas as m,cz = hc(47rr,n,) 4, (tic = 1.975 x 10e4eV. cm).
Accordingly, the momentum exchange, q, in the gas can be written:
q = {u2n, - m;c4}/2E&c, (3) were a = 3.716 x 10-lleVcrn~, so that a2n, = mqc4, the effective photon rest energy squared.
For a gas of 4He at 300K, the required pres- sure in atmospheres is given by P(Atm.) II 14.8(mtc4eV2/leV2) in agreement with that given in ref.(s). The ideal condition is for q = 0, or mEc4 = a2n,, where n, in 4He at STP is 5.378 x 101g/cm3. Therefore to remain totally coherent for m,c2 = leV, n, corresponds to 14.8 Atmospheres at room temperature. The actual pressure would be for example 1 Atmosphere if cooled to 20.3K.
3. Experimental Parameters
An expression for the bound on garr in terms of experimental parameters is given below:
(4) where b is the background (counts day-‘), t is the time of alignment with the sun in days, B is the field in Tesla, L is the length in meters, and A is the area of the magnet bore in cm2. In this case B, L, and A are fixed and only t and b can be controlled. Actually since the limits of the tilt of the magnet are controlled by the properties of the cryogenic system that keeps it superconducting, we can really only control the background, b.
Detector backgrounds will be from radioactiv- ity in construction materials, in the beam pipe, and from the surroundings, and are proportional to the detector mass. The CAST collaboration is testing an x-ray mirror system, similar to those used in x-ray astronomy, that can focus axion induced x-rays from the sun to a submillimeter spot. This will not only reduce the background by
C.E. Aalseth et al. /Nuclear Physics B (Proc. Suppl.) 110 (2002) 8547 81
using a position sensitive detector, but will also allow the background to be simultaneously mea- sured with far more area x exposure time than the rate in the small spot in the detector where the axion signal is expected.
Three position sensitive detectors are being de- veloped, a small gas time projection chamber, a p-n CCD, and a micromegas detector. All these are position sensitive and low background. Using our best estimates of the predictions of all of the parameters in equation (4), the predicted exclu- sion plot is shown in Fig. 1.
lo-7
Figure 1. Figure 1, a) sensitivity altainable (99.7
% CL) on gorr as a function of sxion mass. b) Present experimental limits of the Tokyo axion helioscope [lo]. c) Astrophysical constraints from HB star populations.
4. Conclusion
CAST’s LHC magnet is being mounted on a moving platform with X-ray detectors on either end, to observe the Sun an average of 206 minutes per day including sunrise and sunset. The rest of the day will be devoted to background mea- surements and, through the Earth’s motion, ob- servations of a large portion of the sky. CAST’s X-ray detectors are under development, with the collaboration looking at gas-filled and solid state
options. A chamber using the “micromegas” prin- ciple has been tested.
The aperture of the LHC magnet’s beam pipes is around five times the predicted solar axion source size, so its X-ray detectors must be cor- respondingly large, implying a high level of noise.
To overcome this problem, the CAST collabora- tion is considering using X-ray lenses to focus the converted X-rays emerging parallel from the 50 mm magnet aperture to a submillimetre spot.
This will bring a vast signal-to-noise improve- ment .
CAST is a new departure for CERN, relying not on the lab’s expertise in accelerators but on its know-how in X-ray detection, magnets and cryogenics. With a discovery potential for axions extending beyond that dictated by astrophysical considerations, the experiment leaves room for surprises and could open up a new field of ter- restrial axion astrophysics [ 131.
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