Speaker
Esther Ferrer Ribas
(DAPNIA, Saclay)
Description
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. A very high level of background rejection (4 × 10 −5
counts keV −1cm−2s−1) was achieved due 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 has
been 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.
Author
Esther Ferrer Ribas
(DAPNIA, Saclay)
