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A<sc>bstract</sc> Proton-proton collisions at energy-frontier facilities produce an intense flux of high-energy light particles, including neutrinos, in the forward direction. At the LHC, these particles are currently being studied with the far-forward experiments FASER/FASERνand SND@LHC, while new dedicated experiments have been proposed in the context of a Forward Physics Facility (FPF) operating at the HL-LHC. Here we present a first quantitative exploration of the reach for neutrino, QCD, and BSM physics of far-forward experiments integrated within the proposed Future Circular Collider (FCC) project as part of its proton-proton collision program (FCC-hh) at$$ \sqrt{s} $$ $\sqrt{s}$≃ 100 TeV. We find that 10⁹electron/muon neutrinos and 10⁷tau neutrinos could be detected, an increase of several orders of magnitude compared to (HL-)LHC yields. We study the impact of neutrino DIS measurements at the FPF@FCC to constrain the unpolarised and spin partonic structure of the nucleon and assess their sensitivity to nuclear dynamics down tox∼ 10⁻⁹with neutrinos produced in proton-lead collisions. We demonstrate that the FPF@FCC could measure the neutrino charge radius forν_eandν_μand reach down to five times the SM value forν_τ. We fingerprint the BSM sensitivity of the FPF@FCC for a variety of models, including dark Higgs bosons, relaxion-type scenarios, quirks, and millicharged particles, finding that these experiments would be able to discover LLPs with masses as large as 50 GeV and couplings as small as 10⁻⁸, and quirks with masses up to 10 TeV. Our study highlights the remarkable opportunities made possible by integrating far-forward experiments into the FCC project, and it provides new motivation for the FPF at the HL-LHC as an essential precedent to optimize the forward physics experiments that will enable the FCC to achieve its full physics potential. 

Abstract Proton-proton collisions at the LHC generate a high-intensity collimated beam of neutrinos in the forward (beam) direction, characterised by energies of up to several TeV. The recent observation of LHC neutrinos by FASER$$\nu $$ $\nu$and SND@LHC signifies that this previously overlooked particle beam is now available for scientific investigation. Here we quantify the impact that neutrino deep-inelastic scattering (DIS) measurements at the LHC would have on the parton distributions (PDFs) of protons and heavy nuclei. We generate projections for DIS structure functions for FASER$$\nu $$ $\nu$and SND@LHC at Run III, as well as for the FASER$$\nu $$ $\nu$2, AdvSND, and FLArE experiments to be hosted at the proposed Forward Physics Facility (FPF) operating concurrently with the High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC). We determine that up to one million electron-neutrino and muon-neutrino DIS interactions within detector acceptance can be expected by the end of the HL-LHC, covering a kinematic region inxand$$Q^2$$ $Q^2$overlapping with that of the Electron-Ion Collider. Including these DIS projections in global (n)PDF analyses, specifically PDF4LHC21, NNPDF4.0, and EPPS21, reveals a significant reduction in PDF uncertainties, in particular for strangeness and the up and down valence PDFs. We show that LHC neutrino data enable improved theoretical predictions for core processes at the HL-LHC, such as Higgs and weak gauge boson production. Our analysis demonstrates that exploiting the LHC neutrino beam effectively provides CERN with a “Neutrino-Ion Collider” without requiring modifications in its accelerator infrastructure. 

Abstract A precise knowledge of the quark and gluon structure of the proton, encoded by the parton distribution functions (PDFs), is of paramount importance for the interpretation of high-energy processes at present and future lepton–hadron and hadron–hadron colliders. Motivated by recent progress in the PDF determinations carried out by the CT, MSHT, and NNPDF groups, we present an updated combination of global PDF fits: PDF4LHC21. It is based on the Monte Carlo combination of the CT18, MSHT20, and NNPDF3.1 sets followed by either its Hessian reduction or its replica compression. Extensive benchmark studies are carried out in order to disentangle the origin of the differences between the three global PDF sets. In particular, dedicated fits based on almost identical theory settings and input datasets are performed by the three groups, highlighting the role played by the respective fitting methodologies. We compare the new PDF4LHC21 combination with its predecessor, PDF4LHC15, demonstrating their good overall consistency and a modest reduction of PDF uncertainties for key LHC processes such as electroweak gauge boson production and Higgs boson production in gluon fusion. We study the phenomenological implications of PDF4LHC21 for a representative selection of inclusive, fiducial, and differential cross sections at the LHC. The PDF4LHC21 combination is made available via the LHAPDF library and provides a robust, user-friendly, and efficient method to estimate the PDF uncertainties associated to theoretical calculations for the upcoming Run III of the LHC and beyond.