The Latest from TOTEM

Since April 2009 the installation and commissioning of the TOTEM detectors have been continuing successfully. All of the Roman Pot stations at 220 m on both sides of IP5 are now equipped with silicon detectors. The complete T2 telescope is installed in both CMS forward regions.

Two quarters of the T1 telescope have been assembled and cabled and are running in the test beam. Some optimizations are still in progress and a final test in the SPS beam is scheduled for this month. After an evaluation of the test beam data, one side of the T1 telescope will be installed, requiring access to the CMS forward region. The last two T1 quarters are currently being assembled.

The final Data Acquisition System is under test in IP5. The installed detectors are in the commissioning phase. This includes all related detector infrastructure, the Detector Control System (DCS), the various databases, as well as the connections to the LHC and CMS control rooms. Furthermore, the TOTEM control room is now equipped with monitoring systems and DCS controls.

Using Monte-Carlo simulations, the off-line software is now being optimized for data analysis. This includes alignment software, simulations of trigger responses, event displays, database exchanges, understanding of the machine optics, etc. We envisage taking data from the beginning of the beam collisions, and we hope to get physics results soon after the calibration of our detectors.

TOTEM Collaboration