Vector meson photoproduction in UPCs with FoCal

Abstract

We discuss the physics prospects of photon-induced measurements using the high-granularity FoCal detector to be installed at the ALICE experiment, covering the pseudorapidity interval 3.4 ≤ η ≤ 5.8. This new detector, scheduled to be in operation from Run 4, will explore the small Bjorken-x physics region in an unprecedented way. In this region the gluon saturation phenomenon is expected to be dominant. Combined with the rest of the ALICE subdetectors, including the zero degree calorimenters, FoCal will serve to reconstruct in a model-independent way the measured photoproduction cross sections for vectors mesons in a wide range of photon-target energies, down to x values of about 7 × 10-6 and 2 × 10-6 in ultra-peripheral photon–proton and photon–lead collisions, respectively.

Light vector meson photoproduction in ultraperipheral heavy‐ion collisions at the LHC within the Reggeometric Pomeron approach

“…Currently, there is no data available for ϕ production in AA UPCs at the LHC. It is planned a high‐granularity detector named FoCal (Bylinkin et al 2022) to be installed at the ALICE experiment, covering large rapidities. It will allow to measure the cross‐sections and expected yields for exclusive production in the dielectron decay channel with a coverage for both electrons within 3.4 ≤ η ≤ 5.8.…”