Analysis of beam test data by global optimization methods

Successful track reconstruction in a silicon tracking device depends on the quality of the alignment, on the knowledge of the sensor resolution, and on the knowledge of the amount of material traversed by the particles. We describe algorithms for the concurrent estimation of alignment parameters, sensor resolutions and material thickness in the context of a beam test setup. They are based on a global optimization approach and are designed to work both with and without prior information from a reference telescope. We present results from simulated and real beam test data.