Monte Carlo study of particle production in diffractive proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt s$ = 13 TeV with the very forward detector combined with central information

TL;DR

This study uses Monte Carlo simulations to demonstrate how combining very forward detectors with central detector data can effectively identify and analyze low-mass diffractive events in proton-proton collisions at 13 TeV.

Contribution

The paper introduces a method to classify diffractive and nondiffractive events using combined forward and central detector information, achieving high purity in low-mass diffraction identification.

Findings

High purity (~100%) in diffraction selection with 30-70% efficiency.

Most selected events are low-mass diffraction with log10(ξ_x) < -5.5.

Combined detection method effectively accesses low-mass diffraction regime.

Abstract

Very forward (VF) detectors in hadron colliders, having unique sensitivity to diffractive processes, can be a powerful tool for studying diffractive dissociation by combining them with central detectors. Several Monte Carlo simulation samples in $p$-$p$ collisions at $\sqrt s = 13$ TeV were analyzed, and different nondiffractive and diffractive contributions were clarified through differential cross sections of forward neutral particles. Diffraction selection criteria in the VF-triggered-event samples were determined by using the central track information. The corresponding selection applicable in real experiments has $\approx$100% purity and 30%-70% efficiency. Consequently, the central information enables classification of the forward productions into diffraction and nondiffraction categories; in particular, most of the surviving events from the selection belong to low-mass diffraction events at $\log_{10}(\xi_{x}) < -5.5$. Therefore, the combined method can uniquely access the low-mass diffraction regime experimentally.