Abstract
The physics motivation, detector design, triggers, calibration, alignment, simulation, and overall performance of the very forward CASTOR calorimeter of the CMS experiment are reviewed. The CASTOR Cherenkov sampling calorimeter is located very close to the LHC beam line, at a radial distance of about 1cm from the beam pipe, and at 14.4m from the CMS interaction point, covering the pseudorapidity range of −6.6 < η < −5.2. It was designed to withstand high ambient radiation and strong magnetic fields. The performance of the detector in measurements of forward energy density, jets, and processes characterized by rapidity gaps, is reviewed using data collected in proton and nuclear collisions at the LHC.
Highlights
The physics program of the CASTOR calorimeter includes typical “forward physics” studies [12, 13, 37], such as those connected with low-x parton dynamics, underlying event (UE), multiparton interactions (MPI), as well as with diffractive, photon-induced, and central exclusive processes
The corresponding distribution for heavy ion collisions at B = 3.8 T is shown in figure 15 comparing correction factors obtained with physics events and light-emitting diode (LED) measurements
The overall detector design has been reviewed, emphasizing the features that allow its operation under a significant radiation exposure, required fast optical response, high occupancy, magnetic fields, and severe space constraints
Summary
The CASTOR detector closes to a large extent the gap in the calorimetric coverage between the central detector (|η| 5.2) and the zero-degree calorimeter (|η| > 8.4 for neutral particles) [29] on one side of the CMS experiment. The addition of the CASTOR calorimeter provides the CMS detector with the most complete geometric coverage a the LHC (figure 3, left), thereby opening up unique possibilities for physics measurements in pp, pPb, and PbPb collisions. This section summarizes the main research topics accessible with the CASTOR detector
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