Speaker
Description
Understanding the complex structure of nucleons in terms of quarks and gluons represents one of the most pivotal and contemporary challenges in particle physics. A significant advancement has been made through measurements accessing their multi-dimensional structure, crucial for gaining new insight into the strong interaction in the non-perturbative regime of QCD, as well as for opening new physics frontiers. The LHCspin project aims to precisely investigate the 3D structure of the proton and to perform spin physics studies via high-energy polarized fixed-target collisions, exploiting new probes and exploring new processes in a unique kinematic regime. The project will be developed in two phases. The first phase focuses on an innovative R&D program in the LHC Interaction Region 4 with the possibility to already perform unique exploratory measurements. The second phase aims at the installation of a polarized gas target in front of the LHCb spectrometer, bringing spin physics to the LHC for the first time. This builds on the installation of SMOG2, an unpolarized gas target that made LHCb the first experiment capable of acquiring data simultaneously in the collider mode at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=14\;$TeV and in the beam-target mode at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=100\;$GeV. The current status of the LHCspin project is presented along with its scientific potential and experimental setup.
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