Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The Large Hadron Collider forward (LHCf) experiment studies the production of neutral particles in the very forward region of high-energy hadronic collisions at the LHC. These measurements provide essential calibration data for hadronic interaction models used in simulations of extensive air showers initiated by ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. The LHCf experiment measures forward-produced neutral particles, such as neutrons, photons, π0, and η mesons, which play a key role in the development of extensive air showers. Proton–proton collisions at the LHC reach center-of-mass energies up to 13.6 TeV, corresponding in the fixed-target frame to cosmic-ray interactions at energies close to 1017 eV in the Earth’s atmosphere. LHCf has collected data in proton–proton collisions at several energies, as well as in proton–lead collisions, enabling detailed comparisons between experimental results and predictions of hadronic interaction models. This contribution reviews the most significant LHCf results, with emphasis on Run II proton–proton data at s=13TeV, including measurements of forward neutron, photon, and η meson production. Finally, future prospects are discussed, focusing on ongoing analyses of Run III proton–proton data at s=13.6TeV and on the final LHCf operation in proton-oxygen collisions at sNN=9.6TeV, which best reproduces cosmic-ray interactions with nuclei of the Earth’s atmosphere.
Source: Particles
Authors: Oscar Adriani, Eugenio Berti, Pietro Betti, Lorenzo Bonechi, Massimo Bongi, Raffaello D’Alessandro, Sebastiano Detti, Elena Gensini, Elena Geraci, Maurice Haguenauer, Vlera Hajdini, Cigdem Issever, Yoshitaka Itow, Katsuaki Kasahara, Haruka Kobayashi, Clara Leitgeb, Yutaka Matsubara, Hiroaki Menjo, Yasushi Muraki, Andrea Paccagnella, Paolo Papini, Giuseppe Piparo, Sergio Bruno Ricciarini, Takashi Sako, Nobuyuki Sakurai, Monica Scaringella, Yuki Shimizu, Tadashi Tamura, Alessio Tiberio, Shoji Torii, Alessia Tricomi, Bill Turner, Kenji Yoshida
Institutions: Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Firenze, University of Florence, University of Catania, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Catania, Centro Siciliano di Fisica Nucleare e di Struttura della Materia, École Polytechnique, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Institute for Cosmic Ray Research, The University of Tokyo, Shibaura Institute of Technology, Nagoya University, Chubu University, Nello Carrara Institute of Applied Physics, Tokushima University, Kanagawa University, Waseda University, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Language: English
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,930
Awards: Deeping the analysis of the LHCf experiment and exploring the highest energy, Study on very forward particle productions and their Feynman scaling in 13TeV p-p collisions at LHC, Measurement of strange mesons at very forward region of LHC proton-proton collisions, Eingrenzung von Modellen für hadronische Wechselwirkungen unter kombinierter Verwendung von Daten des LHC und atmosphärischer Teilchenschauer, Measurement of very forward particles at LHC proton-oxygen collisions
OpenAlex ID: W7148520087