Physics case for a polarised target for AFTER@LHC

J. Lansberg; Mauro Anselmino; R. Arnaldi; S. Brodsky; V. Chambert; J. Didelez; M. G. Echevarria; Elena Gonzalez Ferreiro; F. Fleuret; Yuan-Mei Gao; B. Genolini; C. Hadjidakis; I. Hrivnácová; D. Kikoła; A. Kurepin; C. Lorcé; L. Massacrier; A. Nass; C. Pisano; I. Schienbein; Marc Schlegel; E. Scomparin; J. Seixas; A. Signori; E. Steffens; N. Topilskaya; B. Trzeciak; Ulrik Uggerhoej; A. Uras; R. Ulrich; Zhenwei Yang

Paper

Physics case for a polarised target for AFTER@LHC

Abstract

We review a number of ideas put forward in favour of the use of a polarised target along with the proposed idea of a fixed-target experiment using the LHC beams -- AFTER@LHC. A number of recent studies have shown that single transverse-spin asymmetries (STSAs) are large enough to be precisely measured in the region accessible with AFTER@LHC, in particular as regards the Drell-Yan process as well as single-pion, isolated-photon and jet production. AFTER@LHC with a polarised target would also be the ideal experimental set-up to measure the gluon Sivers effect via a number of original quarkonium STSA studies. We discuss first figures-of-merit based on simulations for AFTER@LHC with a polarised target.