Performance Of The Cms Zero Degree Calorimeters In Ppb Collisions At The Lhc

The two Zero Degree Calorimeters (ZDCs) of the CMS experiment are located at +/- 140m from the collision point and detect neutral particles in the |eta | > 8 .3 pseudorapidity region. This paper presents a study on the performance of the ZDC in the 2016 pPb run. The response of the detectors to ultrarelativistic neutrons is studied using in-depth Monte Carlo simulations. A method of signal extraction based on template fits is presented, along with a dedicated calibration procedure. A deconvolution technique for the correction of overlapping collision events is discussed.