Measurement of proton-proton elastic scattering and total cross-section at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

Description

The main goal of this analysis is to reproduce the 2011 analysis, which aimed to measure the differential elastic cross-section (𝑑𝜎/𝑑𝑡) of proton-proton collisions as a function of the four-momentum transfer squared |t|. Initial research by the TOTEM collaboration covered the |t| range from 0.36 to 2.5 GeV. By using a special beam optics configuration (𝛽∗ = 90 𝑚), they extended this range to as low as 2 ⋅ 10^-2 GeV. This wider range allowed extrapolation to |t| = 0, enabling the determination of the elastic and total cross-sections via the optical theorem for the first time at the LHC. This analysis improved the |t|-distribution measurement, achieving higher statistics and covering values down to 5 ⋅ 10^-3 GeV. The data was recorded in October 2011 at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV and is divided into three datasets, with Roman Pot detectors positioned at different distances from the beam. This setup enabled the observation of 91% of the elastic cross-section, an improvement over the 67% observed previously. While running the notebooks, new .root files are created, which are necessary for the subsequent steps of the analysis. The final plot is the proton-proton differential elastic scattering cross-section dependent on the four-momentum transfer squared |t|. The notebooks also calculate the total, elastic and inelastic cross-sections.

Characteristics

System details