ATLAS Forward Proton (AFP) time-of-flight (ToF) detector: construction & existing experiences

In 2017 the ATLAS collaboration successfully completed the installation of the ATLAS Forward Proton (AFP) detector to measure diffractive protons leaving under very small angles (hundreds of micro radians) the ATLAS proton-proton interaction point. The AFP tags and measures forward protons scattered in single diffraction or hard central diffraction, where two protons are emitted and a central system is created. In addition, the AFP has a potential to measure two-photon exchange processes, and to be sensitive to eventual anomalous quartic couplings of Vector Bosons: γγW+W−, γγZZ, and γγγγ. Such measurements at high luminosities will be possible only due the combination of high resolution tracking (semi-edgeless 3D Silicon pixel) detectors and ultra-high precision ToF (Quartz-Cherenkov) detectors at both sides of the ATLAS detector. The ToF detector construction and experiences with its operation represent the subject of the talk