LEP3: a low-cost, high-luminosity Higgs factory

TL;DR

LEP3 proposes a low-cost, high-luminosity electron-positron collider leveraging existing infrastructure to serve as a Higgs factory, with potential for future upgrades and alternative configurations.

Contribution

It introduces a novel design for a Higgs factory that reuses LHC infrastructure, emphasizing cost-effectiveness and flexibility in tunnel options.

Findings

LEP3 can reach 240 GeV center-of-mass energy for Higgs production.

The design leverages existing LHC tunnel and equipment, reducing costs.

Alternative tunnel options expand potential sites and future upgrade paths.

Abstract

The discovery of a relatively light Higgs opens up the possibility of circular e+e- Higgs factories. LEP3 is such a machine with emphasis on low cost, since it re-uses most of the LHC infrastructure, including the tunnel, cryogenics, and the two general-purpose LHC experiments Atlas and CMS, with some modifications. The energy reach of LEP3 is 240GeV in the centre of mass, close to the ZH production maximum. Alternative tunnel diameters and locations are possible, including a Higgs factory housed in the UNK tunnel, UNK-L, and a machine located in a new 80 km tunnel in the Geneva region, TLEP, than can further house a very high energy pp collider. The design merits further consideration and a detailed study should be performed, so that LEP3 can be one more option available to the community for the next step in High Energy Physics.