OSQAR Annual Report 2011

The status of the OSQAR experiments is presented, highlighting the progress achieved and the difficulties encountered. A funding dedicated to Axion Detection by Laser-based Experiments has been awarded in March 2011 by the Czech Science Foundation. This important step allowed strengthening the studies and the prototyping of optical elements needed for the Vacuum Magnetic Birefringence (VMB) measurement within one aperture of a spare LHC dipole. For the photon regeneration, experimental runs have just started in the CERN SM18 test hall with a new CCD. The sensitivity for the search of light scalar and pseudoscalar particles that can couple to photons is on the way to reach the target presented to the SPSC in 2010. The results obtained in 2010 with for the first time, the simultaneous use of two aligned LHC dipoles have been analyzed and submitted for publication (http://arxiv.org/abs/1110.0774).