Macroparticle-Induced Losses During 6.5 TeV LHC Operation

One of the major performance limitations for operating the LHC at high energy was feared to be the so called UFOs (Unidentified Falling Objects, presumably micrometer sized dust particles which lead to fast beam losses when they interact with the beam). Indeed much higher rates were observed in 2015 compared to Run 1, and about 20 fills were prematurely terminated by too high losses caused by such events. Additionally they triggered a few beam induced quenches at high energy, the first in the history of the LHC. In this paper we review the latest update on the analysis of these events, e.g. the conditioning observed during the year and possible correlations with beam and machine parameters. At the same time we also review the optimization of beam loss monitor thresholds in terms of machine protection and availability.