Compact Muon Production and Collection Scheme for High-Energy Physics Experiments

The relative immunity of muons to synchrotron radiation suggests that they might be used in place of electrons as probes in fundamental high-energy physics experiments. Muons are commonly produced indirectly through pion decay by interaction of a charged particle beam with a target. However, the large angle and energy dispersion of the initial beams as well as the short muon lifetime limits many potential applications. Here, we describe a fast method for manipulating the longitudinal and transverse phase-space of a divergent pion-muon beam to enable efficient capture and downstream transport with minimum losses. We also discuss the design of a handling system for the removal of unwanted secondary particles from the target region and thus reduce activation of the machine. The compact muon source we describe can be used for fundamental physics research in neutrino experiments.

A muon collider as a Higgs factory

Because muons connect directly to a standard-model Higgs particle in s-channel production, a muon collider would be an ideal device for precision measurement of the mass and width of a Higgs-like particle, and for further exploration of its production and decay properties. Parameters of a high-precision muon collider are presented and the necessary components and performance are described. An important advantage of the muon collider approach is that the spin precession of the muons will enable energy measurements at extremely high accuracy (dE/E to 10-6 or better). The collider could be a first step toward a high-luminosity multi-TeV lepton collider, and extensions toward a higher-energy higher-luminosity device are also discussed.