Measurement of the inelastic proton-proton cross section at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

TL;DR

This paper reports a measurement of the inelastic proton-proton cross section at 7 TeV using CMS detector data, employing two independent methods to cover a broad pseudorapidity range and low transverse momenta.

Contribution

It provides the first comprehensive measurement of the inelastic cross section at 7 TeV with two independent methods and compares results with existing models and experiments.

Findings

Measured inelastic cross section at 7 TeV with two methods

Coverage of about 9 units of pseudorapidity

Comparison with other experiments and models

Abstract

A measurement is presented of the inelastic proton-proton cross section at a centre-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV. Using the CMS detector at the LHC, the inelastic cross section is measured through two independent methods based on information from (i) forward calorimetry (for pseudorapidity 3 < abs(eta) < 5), in collisions where at least one proton loses more than 5E-6 of its longitudinal momentum, and (ii) the central tracker (abs(eta) < 2.4), in collisions containing an interaction vertex with more than 1, 2, or 3 tracks with transverse momenta pT > 200 MeV. The measurements cover a large fraction of the inelastic cross section for particle production over about 9 units of pseudorapidity and down to small transverse momenta. The results are compared with those of other experiments, and with models used to describe high-energy hadronic interactions.