Speaker
Description
Central exclusive production (CEP) is a diffractive process in which the colliding particles remain intact. Three different processes are involved: photon-photon exchange, photon-pomeron exchange and double-pomeron exchange. Each process produces distinguishable states with specific sets of quantum numbers, making CEP measurements a unique tool for searching for exotic resonances. Furthermore, measurements of well-known states in CEP can provide a clean probe of the structure of matter. For example, the photoproduction of the J/𝜓 (via photon-pomeron exchange) can be used for probing the low-𝑥 gluon content of protons.
In ALICE, events of the CEP can be identified by its signature of double-gap in pseudorapidity. Relying on the tracking and particle identification capabilities in the central barrel of ALICE, various final state two particle systems can be measured including 𝜋+𝜋− and 𝐾+𝐾−. In addition, heavy vector mesons such as J/𝜓 can be studied via their decay into 𝑒+𝑒− pair.
In this contribution, we will present the performance of the ALICE Run 3 detector for measurements of double-gap events in pp collisions at √s = 13.6 TeV. In addition, we will discuss physics prospects of central exclusive production in pp collisions with ALICE detector.
| Category | Experiment |
|---|---|
| Collaboration (if applicable) | ALICE |
