Two-Photon Interactions in Proton$-$Proton Collisions with the ATLAS Experiment at the LHC

As a significant part of the thesis, measurement of exclusive $\gamma\gamma \rightarrow \ell^+\ell^- (\ell=e,~\mu)$ production cross section in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV is presented using 4.6 fb$^{-1}$ of data collected by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. The results are compared to the theory predictions that take into account proton absorptive effects (due to the finite size of colliding protons). Moreover, the simulated performance of fully integrated ATLAS+AFP (upgrade) detector setup is detailed.