Studies of the ATLAS tile hadron calorimeter performance

Extensive studies of the ATLAS tile hadron calorimeter, TileCal, performance were conducted between 1996 and 1998 on full size prototypes. The construction of the calorimeter started in late 1998. Research activities since then focussed on controlling the energy resolution and sensitivity to muons. Most of the activities take place at the SPS H8 beam line at CERN. The status of these studies is presented, with comparisons to results on prototypes. An update on prospects of using the calorimeter signal in muon triggers in ATLAS is reported. The calibration program of TileCal modules with test beams started in 2001. A brief overview of the calibration and monitoring program of the calorimeter is given. (19 refs).