TOTEM Experiment at the LHC: Status and Program

The TOTEM experiment (Total Cross Section Elastic Scattering and Diffraction Dissociation at the LHC) will measure the total p-p cross section at the LHC by measuring separately the elastic and inelastic rate. The TOTEM experimental apparatus accounts for two inelastic telescopes and two Roman Pot stations per side equipped with the leading proton detectors. The detectors will be placed in the forward region of CMS: the detectors of the two experiments, operated together, provide an unprecedented rapidity coverage at a hadron collider. A common program on forward physics with different LHC running scenarios is foreseen by the two collaborations; a brief description of the part concerning soft double Pomeron exchange processes is given in this article.