Constraining high energy interaction mechanisms by studying forward hadron production at the LHC

TL;DR

This paper explores how assumptions about the internal structure of hadrons influence predictions of forward hadron production at the LHC, highlighting the potential of combined detector studies to differentiate interaction models.

Contribution

It demonstrates the significant impact of parton Fock state assumptions on hadronic interaction model predictions and advocates for combined central and forward detector analyses at the LHC.

Findings

Parton Fock state assumptions strongly affect model predictions.

Combined detector studies can discriminate between interaction models.

Forward hadron spectra are sensitive to underlying hadron structure.

Abstract

We demonstrate that underlying assumptions concerning the structure of constituent parton Fock states in hadrons make a strong impact on the predictions of hadronic interaction models for forward hadron spectra and for long-range correlations between central and forward hadron production. Our analysis shows that combined studies of proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider by central and forward-looking detectors have a rich potential for discriminating between the main model approaches.