Spin and diffractive physics with A Fixed-Target ExpeRiment at the LHC (AFTER@LHC)

TL;DR

The paper discusses a proposed fixed-target experiment at the LHC, called AFTER@LHC, which aims to explore spin and diffractive physics using high-energy proton and lead beams, offering unprecedented luminosity and new measurement capabilities.

Contribution

It introduces a novel fixed-target setup at the LHC with high energy and luminosity, enabling unique spin and diffractive physics measurements not possible before.

Findings

Luminosity surpasses RHIC by over 3 orders of magnitude.

Allows measurements of single-spin asymmetries with polarized targets.

Enables study of single-diffractive processes in the target region.

Abstract

We report on the spin and diffractive physics at a future multi-purpose fixed-target experiment with proton and lead 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 using typical targets would surpass that of RHIC by more than 3 orders of magnitude. The fixed-target mode has the advantage to allow for measurements of single-spin asymmetries with polarized target as well as of single-diffractive processes in the target region.