CASTing for Solar Axions at CERN

The absence of CP Violation in the strong interaction is generally referred to as the "strong CP problem". The most elegant solution is a minimal extension of the Standard Model by Peccei & Quinn which postulates the existence of a light pseudoscalar particle called the axion. The CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST) is an experimental search for axions which have been produced in the hot dense plasma of the sun via the Primakoff effect. It utilizes an LHC prototype superconducting magnet to convert the axions into visible low energy X-ray photons via the inverse Primakoff effect here on Earth. The latest results will be presented along with our plans for extending the axion mass range into a region which will challenge even more severely the current theoretical models.