A fast hardware tracker for the ATLAS trigger system

The fast tracker (FTK) is an integral part of the trigger upgrade program for the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). As the LHC luminosity approaches its design level of 1034 cm−2 s−1, the combinatorial problem posed by charged particle tracking becomes increasingly difficult due to the swelling of multiple interactions per bunch crossing (pile-up). The FTK is a highly-parallel hardware system intended to provide high-quality tracks with transverse momentum above 1 GeV/c. The FTK systems design, based on a mixture of advanced technologies, and expected physics performance will be presented.