Trigger Algorithms and Electronics for the ATLAS Muon New Small Wheel Upgrade

The New Small Wheel Upgrade for the ATLAS experiment will replace the innermost station of the Muon Spectrometer in the forward region in order to maintain its current performance during high luminosity data-taking after the LHC Phase-I upgrade. The New Small Wheel, comprising Micromegas and small Thin Gap Chambers, will reduce the rate of fake triggers coming from backgrounds in the forward region and significantly improve the Level-1 muon trigger selectivity by providing precise on-line segment measurements with $\sim$1 mrad angular resolution. Such demanding precision, together with the short time ($\sim$ 1 $\mu$s) to prepare trigger data and perform on-line reconstruction, implies very stringent requirements on the design of trigger system and trigger electronics. This paper presents an overview of the design of the New Small Wheel trigger system, trigger algorithms and processor hardware.