Speaker
Description
For the search for axions, helioscopes are one of the original experiments that were introduced by Sikivie in 1983. Helioscopes are built with the idea that the Sun is a major source for axions thanks to its high core temperature. These axions would be produced through the Primakoff effect, processes relying on the axion-electron coupling and other mechanisms. In a helioscope, those solar axions can then couple to X-ray photons in a magnetic field which then in turn can be detected.
Following previous experiments like CAST, IAXO (the International AXion Observatory) will be a next-generation helioscope. It is planned to be built at DESY in Hamburg just like its predecessor BabyIAXO. The latter will not only be a proof of concept for the different components of IAXO but has its own physics potential.
IAXO will consist of a 20 m long magnet that is mounted on a drive system to be able to track the Sun for a minimum of 12 hours a day. This magnet will be connected to 8 setups consisting of an X-ray focusing optic and a detector each.
This talk will give an overview of the plans for both IAXO and BabyIAXO as well as their physics potential. In addition to aiming for an axion-photon coupling sensitivity in the range of $10^{-12} \text{GeV}^{-1}$ and $2×10^{-11} \text{GeV}^{-1}$ respectively, both experiments will be able to also search for axion-like particles (ALPs), dark matter axions in a haloscope stage and other physics cases. This talk will also go into detail about the developments towards building BabyIAXO and the progress of its different components.
