Physics performance studies for the ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC

A Large Hadron Collider Experiment (ALICE) at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will explore a primordial state of matter that existed in the early Universe. Resonance production at the LHC is of great interest in the study of the phase state of hadronic matter known as a Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP). Results are presented on the prospects for phi(1020) meson production from LHC start-up to optimal running conditions in pp collisions. A careful analysis of background subtraction methods with particular attention to phi meson production during the first physics run is also presented. A discussion about the discrepancies between different versions of the PYTHIA event generator in charged-particle multiplicity and its implications in phi production is given. An overview of the physics of strongly interacting matter at high energy densities, the QGP signatures and experimental results from previous experiments in the field of heavy-ion physics is given. The ALICE experimental apparatus, detectors and systems are briefly described as well as the results of performance studies on tracking, vertex and particle identification. The key features of the ALICE trigger system, and the synchronisation of trigger inputs are discussed. A description of a systematic test of cable signal transmission that allows bit-error rate (BER) measurements is also given. A feasibility study of the electromagnetic process pp->ppe+e- at central rapidit ies in ALICE is also presented.