"Using the LHC as a photon collider"
Dr. Daniel Tapia Takaki
Institut de Physique Nucléaire d'Orsay (CNRS/IN2P3)
Université Paris-Sud
The strong electromagnetic fields surrounding the protons and nuclei,
accelerated by the LHC, lead to very large cross sections for photon-induced
processes. For example, the photonuclear cross section for certain processes
in Pb-Pb collisions is larger than the total hadronic one of about 8 b. This
makes the LHC the world's most poweful collider not only for protons and
lead ions but also for photon-photon and photon-hadron collisions. This
seminar will review the physics of ultra-peripheral collisions where these
photo-induced reactions take place. It will then give ALICE results on
coherent J/psi photoproduction and will also birefly cover the prospects of
the forthcoming proton-lead run.