LHC Physics Potential vs. Energy: Considerations for the 2011 Run

TL;DR

This paper analyzes how increasing the LHC proton beam energy from 3.5 TeV to 4 TeV enhances physics potential by examining parton luminosities and their ratios across relevant energy ranges, aiding experimental planning.

Contribution

It provides a detailed quantification of the benefits of higher beam energy for LHC physics, extending previous analyses with updated parton luminosity calculations and visualizations.

Findings

Higher beam energy increases parton luminosities for key interactions.

Ratios of parton luminosities show significant gains at 4 TeV.

Contours of fixed luminosity aid in experimental sensitivity estimates.

Abstract

Parton luminosities are convenient for estimating how the physics potential of Large Hadron Collider experiments depends on the energy of the proton beams. I quantify the advantage of increasing the beam energy from 3.5 TeV to 4 TeV. I present parton luminosities, ratios of parton luminosities, and contours of fixed parton luminosity for $gg$, $u\bar{d}$, $qq$, and $gq$ interactions over the energy range relevant to the Large Hadron Collider, along with example analyses for specific processes. This note extends the analysis presented in arXiv:0908.3660. Full-size figures are available as pdf files at http://lutece.fnal.gov/PartonLum11/