ATLAS forward physics

We play an active role in preparation and development of forward proton detectors for ATLAS experiment. Within a broader international collaboration we proposed to ATLAS to instrument regions 220m and 420m away from the interaction point with forward proton detectors. Installation of the detectors would increase physics potential of the experiment towards diffractive physics with special interest on exclusive production. It would also turn the LHC machine to a photon-photon collider.

Simulations of proton tracking through LHC magnetic field has been performed here in our institute. The results were used in the design of the detectors, their trigger electronics and also for the alignment studies. We are also working extensively on physics program, in particular on the idea of using LHC as photon-photon collider and on appealing possibility of observing exclusive production of Higgs boson.

Important publications:

[1] O. Kepka, Ch. Royon: Anomalous WW gamma coupling in photon-induced processes using forward detectors at the LHC, Phys. Rev. D78:073005, 2008
[2] F. Chevallier, O. Kepka, C. Marquet, C. Royon: Gaps between jets at hadron colliders in the next-to-leading BFKL framework, Phys. Rev. D79:094019, 2009

Researchers:
Vojtěch Juránek, Oldřich Kepka, Alexander Kupčo