Stars and Fundamental Physics

Abstract

Stars are powerful sources for weakly interacting particles that are produced by nuclear or plasma processes in their hot interior. These fluxes can be used for direct measurements (e.g. solar or supernova neutrinos) or the back-reaction on the star can be used to derive limits on new particles. We discuss two examples of current interest, the search for solar axions by the CAST experiment at CERN and stellar-evolution limits on the size of putative large extra dimensions.

Comments: Contribution to ESO-CERN-ESA Symposium on Astronomy, Cosmology and Fundamental Physics (4-7 March 2002, Garching, Germany), additional references in revised version