Measurement of forward neutral pion transverse momentum spectra for √s=7 TeV proton-proton collisions at the LHC

The inclusive production rate of neutral pions in the rapidity range greater than y = 8.9 has been measured by the Large Hadron Collider forward (LHCf) experiment during root s = 7 TeV proton-proton collision operation in early 2010. This paper presents the transverse momentum spectra of the neutral pions. The spectra from two independent LHCf detectors are consistent with each other and serve as a cross-check of the data. The transverse momentum spectra are also compared with the predictions of several hadronic interaction models that are often used for high-energy particle physics and for modeling ultrahigh-energy cosmic ray showers.