Physics Program with Tagged Forward Protons at STAR/RHIC

TL;DR

This paper discusses a new experimental approach at RHIC using forward proton tagging with Roman Pots to study diffractive processes, gluon bound states, and the Odderon in polarized proton collisions across a broad energy range.

Contribution

It introduces a staged implementation of Roman Pot stations at STAR for detailed diffractive and elastic scattering studies in polarized proton collisions.

Findings

Potential to detect gluon bound states via double Pomeron exchange.

Search for Odderon states through spin-dependent elastic scattering.

Enhanced understanding of diffractive processes at high energies.

Abstract

A new effort to explore the diffractive regime in polarized $p+p$ collisions in a broad high energy range ($\sqrt{s}$ = 200 - 500 GeV) has been initiated with the STAR detector at RHIC. Staged implementation of multiple Roman Pot stations for tagging the forward proton in the diffractive processes will enable searches for the centrally produced for the possible gluon bound state via double Pomeron exchange process and the theoretically expected Odderon state in QCD by studying spin-dependent elastic scattering in a wide $t$-range with polarized $p+p$.