HECTOR, a fast simulator for the transport of particles in beamlines

Computing the trajectories of particles in generic beamlines is an important\ningredient of experimental particle physics, in particular regarding near-beam\ndetectors. A new tool, Hector, has been built for such calculations, using the\ntransfer matrix approach and energy corrections. The limiting aperture effects\nare also taken into account. As an illustration, the tool was used to simulate\nthe LHC beamlines, in particular around the high luminosity interaction points\n(IPs), and validated with results of the Mad-X simulator. The LHC beam\nprofiles, trajectories and beta functions are presented. Assuming certain\nforward proton detector scenarios around the IP5, acceptance plots, irradiation\ndoses and chromaticity grids are produced. Furthermore, the reconstruction of\nproton kinematic variables at the IP (energy and angle) is studied as well as\nthe impact of the misalignment of beamline elements.\n Comment: 40 pages, 20 figures; added references, corrected typos ; submitted\n to JINST