We report on the construction, operation experience, and preliminary background measurements of an InGrid detector, i.e. a MicroMegas detector with CMOS pixel readout. The detector was mounted in the focal plane of the Abrixas X-Ray telescope at the CAST experiment at CERN. The detector is sensitive to soft X-Rays in a broad energy range (0.3--10 keV) and thus enables the search for solar chameleons. Smooth detector operation during CAST data taking in autumn 2014 has been achieved. Preliminary analysis of background data indicates a background rate of 1−5×10−5keV−1cm−2s−1 above 2 keV and ∼3×10−4keV−1cm−2s−1 around 1 keV. An expected limit of βγ≲5×1010 on the chameleon photon coupling is estimated in case of absence of an excess in solar tracking data. We also discuss the prospects for future operation of the detector.
@article{arxiv.1509.01418,
title = {Using an InGrid Detector to Search for Solar Chameleons with CAST},
author = {Klaus Desch and Jochen Kaminski and Christoph Krieger and Michael Lupberger},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1509.01418},
year = {2015}
}
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Contributed to the 11th Patras Workshop on Axions, WIMPs and WISPs, Zaragoza, June 22 to 26, 2015