The LHCb experiment is dedicated to precision measurements of CP violation and rare decays of B hadrons at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN (Geneva). The initial configuration and expected performance of the detector and associated systems, as established by test beam measurements and simulation studies, is described.

The calibration and performance of the opposite-side flavour tagging algorithms used for the measurements of time-dependent asymmetries at the LHCb experiment are described. The algorithms have been developed using simulated events and optimized and calibrated with B+→J/ψK+, B0→J/ψK∗0 and B0→D∗−μ+νμ decay modes with 0.37 fb−1 of data collected in pp collisions at during the 2011 physics run. The opposite-side tagging power is determined in the B+→J/ψK+ channel to be (2.10±0.08±0.24) %, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic.

The production of J/ψ mesons in proton-proton collisions at √ s = 7 TeV is studied with the LHCb detector at the LHC. The differential cross-section for prompt J/ψ production is measured as a function of the J/ψ transverse momentum p T and rapidity y in the fiducial region p T ∈ [0; 14] GeV/c and y ∈ [2.0; 4 cross-section and fraction of J/ψ from b-hadron decays are also measured in the same p T and y ranges. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.2 pb −1 . The measured cross-sections integrated over the fiducial region are 10.52 ± 0.04 ± 1.40−2.20 µb for prompt J/ψ production and 1.14 ± 0.01 ± 0.16 µb for J/ψ from b-hadron decays, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. The prompt J/ψ production cross-section is obtained assuming no J/ψ polarisation and the third error indicates the acceptance uncertainty due to this assumption.

The Vertex Locator (VELO) is a silicon microstrip detector that surrounds the protonproton interaction region in the LHCb experiment. The performance of the detector during the first years of its physics operation is reviewed. The system is operated in vacuum, uses a bi-phase CO 2 cooling system, and the sensors are moved to 7 mm from the LHC beam for physics data taking. The performance and stability of these characteristic features of the detector are described, and details of the material budget are given. The calibration of the timing and the data processing algorithms that are implemented in FPGAs are described. The system performance is fully characterised. The sensors have a signal to noise ratio of approximately 20 and a best hit resolution of 4 µm is achieved at the optimal track angle. The typical detector occupancy for minimum bias events in standard operating conditions in 2011 is around 0.5%, and the detector has less than 1% of faulty strips. The proximity of the detector to the beam means that the inner regions of the n + -on-n sensors have undergone space-charge sign inversion due to radiation damage. The VELO performance parameters that drive the experiment's physics sensitivity are also given. The track finding efficiency of the VELO is typically above 98% and the modules have been aligned to a precision of 1 µm for translations in the plane transverse to the beam. A primary vertex resolution of 13 µm in the transverse plane and 71 µm along the beam axis is achieved for vertices with 25 tracks. An impact parameter resolution of less than 35 µm is achieved for particles with transverse momentum greater than 1 GeV/c.

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