Speaker
Description
The main aim of the LHC forward (LHCf) experiment is to provide precise measurements of the particles production spectra in the forward region of the hadronic collisions. These high energy calibration data are very important for the tuning of hadronic interaction models used by ground-based cosmic rays experiments. LHC is the best place where we can perform these measurements, because proton-proton collisions at √s = 14 TeV is equivalent to the interaction of a 10^17 eV cosmic ray with the atmosphere.
LHCf makes use of two small sampling calorimeters installed at ±140 m from LHC IP1, so that it can detect neutral particles produced by p-p and p-ion collisions with pseudo-rapidity η > 8.4.
In the past years, LHCf acquired data in p-p and p-ion collisions at different energies (p-p at √s = 0.9, 2.76, 7 and 13 TeV; p-Pb at √sNN = 5.02 and 8.1 TeV). In this talk, we will present the analysis results published by the collaboration, relative to neutrons, photons and π0 production spectra, compared with models predictions.
We will also present some preliminary results relative to the ATLAS-LHCf common analysis, from which we expect to significantly increase the impact of LHCf measurements, discriminating between diffractive and non- diffractive events by the use of ATLAS information in the central region.
A short overview of the future activities foreseen at the LHC-Run3 (14 TeV p-p and p-O runs) will also be given.
