Muon detection in electron-positron annihilation for muon collider studies

TL;DR

This paper explores a novel low-emittance muon production method for muon colliders using positron-electron annihilation near threshold, employing segmented absorbers and Cherenkov detectors to identify muons.

Contribution

It presents an experimental setup and results for muon production via positron-electron annihilation, advancing low-emittance muon source development for future colliders.

Findings

Successful detection of muons using Cherenkov detectors

Data collected from CERN experiments in 2018

Demonstrated feasibility of low-emittance muon production

Abstract

The investigation of the energy frontier in physics requires novel concepts for future colliders. The idea of a muon collider is very appealing since it would allow to study particle collisions at up to tens of TeV energy, while offering a cleaner experimental environment with respect to hadronic colliders. One key element in the muon collider design is the low-emittance muon production. Recently,the Low EMittance Muon Accelerator (LEMMA) collaboration has explored the muon pair production close to its kinematic threshold by annihilating 45 GeV positrons with electrons in a low Z material target. In this configuration, muons are emerging from the target with a naturally low-emittance. In this paper we describe the performance of a system, to study this production mechanism, that consists in several segmented absorbers with alternating active layers composed of fast Cherenkov detectors together with a muon identification technique based on this detector. Passive layers were made of tungsten. We collected data corresponding to muon and electron beams produced at the H2 line in the North Area of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in September 2018.