We outline the many physics opportunities offered by a multi-purpose fixed-target experiment using the proton and lead–ion beams of the LHC extracted by a bent crystal. In a proton run with the LHC ...7 TeV beam, one can analyze pp, pd and pA collisions at center-of-mass energy sNN≃115GeV and even higher using the Fermi motion of the nucleons in a nuclear target. In a lead run with a 2.76 TeV-per-nucleon beam, sNN is as high as 72 GeV. Bent crystals can be used to extract about 5×108 protons/s; the integrated luminosity over a year reaches 0.5 fb−1 on a typical 1 cm long target without nuclear species limitation. We emphasize that such an extraction mode does not alter the performance of the collider experiments at the LHC. By instrumenting the target-rapidity region, gluon and heavy-quark distributions of the proton and the neutron can be accessed at large x and even at x larger than unity in the nuclear case. Single diffractive physics and, for the first time, the large negative-xF domain can be accessed. The nuclear target-species versatility provides a unique opportunity to study nuclear matter versus the features of the hot and dense matter formed in heavy-ion collisions, including the formation of the quark–gluon plasma, which can be studied in PbA collisions over the full range of target-rapidity domain with a large variety of nuclei. The polarization of hydrogen and nuclear targets allows an ambitious spin program, including measurements of the QCD lensing effects which underlie the Sivers single-spin asymmetry, the study of transversity distributions and possibly of polarized parton distributions. We also emphasize the potential offered by pA ultra-peripheral collisions where the nucleus target A is used as a coherent photon source, mimicking photoproduction processes in ep collisions. Finally, we note that W and Z bosons can be produced and detected in a fixed-target experiment and in their threshold domain for the first time, providing new ways to probe the partonic content of the proton and the nucleus.
We review the context, the motivations and the expected performances of a comprehensive and ambitious fixed-target programme using the multi-TeV proton and ion LHC beams. We also provide a detailed ...account of the different possible technical implementations ranging from an internal wire target to a full dedicated beam line extracted with a bent crystal. The possibilities offered by the use of the ALICE and LHCb detectors in the fixed-target mode are also reviewed.
We outline the many quarkonium-physics opportunities offered by a multi-purpose fixed-target experiment using the
p
and Pb Large Hadron Collider (LHC) beams extracted by a bent crystal. This provides ...an integrated luminosity of 0.5 fb
−1
per year on a typical 1 cm-long target. Such an extraction mode does not alter the performance of the collider experiments at the LHC. With such a high luminosity, one can analyse quarkonium production in great details in
pp
,
pd
and
pA
collisions at
GeV and at
GeV in Pb
A
collisions. In a typical
pp
(
pA
) run, the obtained quarkonium yields per unit of rapidity are 2–3 orders of magnitude larger than those expected at RHIC and about, respectively, 10(70) times larger than for ALICE. In Pb
A
, they are comparable. By instrumenting the target-rapidity region, the large negative-
x
F
domain can be accessed for the first time, greatly extending previous measurements by Hera-B and E866. Such analyses should help resolving the quarkonium-production controversies and clear the way for gluon PDF extraction via quarkonium studies. The nuclear target-species versatility provides a unique opportunity to study nuclear matter and the features of the hot and dense matter formed in Pb
A
collisions. A polarised proton target allows the study of transverse-spin asymmetries in
J
/
ψ
and
production, providing access to the gluon and charm Sivers functions.
Being used in the fixed-target mode, the multi-TeV LHC proton and lead beams allow for studies of heavy-flavour hadroproduction with unprecedented precision at backward rapidities, far negative ...Feynman-x, using conventional detection techniques. At the nominal LHC energies, quarkonia can be studied in detail in p+p, p+d, and p+A collisions at sNN≃115 GeV and in Pb + p and Pb + A collisions at sNN≃72 GeV with luminosities roughly equivalent to that of the collider mode that is up to 20 fb−1 yr−1 in p+p and p+d collisions, up to 0.6 fb−1 yr−1 in p+A collisions, and up to 10 nb−1 yr−1 in Pb + A collisions. In this paper, we assess the feasibility of such studies by performing fast simulations using the performance of a LHCb-like detector.
We outline the case for heavy-ion-physics studies using the multi-TeV lead LHC beams in the fixed-target mode. After a brief contextual reminder, we detail the possible contributions of AFTER@LHC to ...heavy-ion physics with a specific emphasis on quarkonia. We then present performance simulations for a selection of observables. These show that
Υ
(
n
S
)
,
J
/
ψ
and
ψ
(
2
S
)
production in heavy-ion collisions can be studied in new energy and rapidity domains with the LHCb and ALICE detectors. We also discuss the relevance to analyse the Drell–Yan pair production in asymmetric nucleus–nucleus collisions to study the factorisation of the nuclear modification of partonic densities and of further quarkonium states to restore their status of golden probes of the quark–gluon plasma formation.
Thanks to its multi-TeV LHC proton and lead beams, the LHC complex allows one to perform the most energetic fixed-target experiments ever and to study with high precision pp, pd and pA collisions at ...sNN=115GeV and Pbp and PbA collisions at sNN=72GeV. We present a selection of feasibility studies for the production of quarkonia, open heavy-flavor mesons as well as light-flavor hadrons in pA and PbA collisions using the LHCb and ALICE detectors in a fixed-target mode.
We report on the opportunities for spin physics and Transverse-Momentum Dependent distribution (TMD) studies at a future multi-purpose fixed-target experiment using the proton or lead ion LHC beams ...extracted by a bent crystal. The LHC multi-TeV beams allow for the most energetic fixed-target experiments ever performed, opening new domains of particle and nuclear physics and complementing that of collider physics, in particular that of RHIC and the EIC projects. The luminosity achievable with AFTER@LHC using typical targets would surpass that of RHIC by more that 3 orders of magnitude in a similar energy region. In unpolarised proton-proton collisions, AFTER@LHC allows for measurements of TMDs such as the Boer-Mulders quark distributions, the distribution of unpolarised and linearly polarised gluons in unpolarised protons. Using the polarisation of hydrogen and nuclear targets, one can measure transverse single-spin asymmetries of quark and gluon sensitive probes, such as, respectively, Drell-Yan pair and quarkonium production. The fixed-target mode has the advantage to allow for measurements in the target-rapidity region, namely at large x↑ in the polarised nucleon. Overall, this allows for an ambitious spin program which we outline here.
We outline the opportunities to study with high precision the interface between nuclear and particle physics, which are offered by a next generation and multi-purpose fixed-target experiment ...exploiting the proton and ion LHC beams extracted by a bent crystal.
This report reviews the study of open heavy-flavour and quarkonium production in high-energy hadronic collisions, as tools to investigate fundamental aspects of Quantum Chromodynamics, from the ...proton and nucleus structure at high energy to deconfinement and the properties of the Quark–Gluon Plasma. Emphasis is given to the lessons learnt from LHC Run 1 results, which are reviewed in a global picture with the results from SPS and RHIC at lower energies, as well as to the questions to be addressed in the future. The report covers heavy flavour and quarkonium production in proton–proton, proton–nucleus and nucleus–nucleus collisions. This includes discussion of the effects of hot and cold strongly interacting matter, quarkonium photoproduction in nucleus–nucleus collisions and perspectives on the study of heavy flavour and quarkonium with upgrades of existing experiments and new experiments. The report results from the activity of the SaporeGravis network of the I3 Hadron Physics programme of the European Union 7
th
Framework Programme.
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