Multi Higgs production via photon fusion at future multi-TeV muon colliders

TL;DR

This paper explores the potential of future multi-TeV muon colliders to measure multi-Higgs production via photon fusion, comparing it with vector-boson-fusion processes, and discusses strategies to enhance signals and probe Higgs self-couplings.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed analysis of loop-suppressed multi-Higgs production via photon fusion at muon colliders, including strategies to improve detection and sensitivity to Higgs self-coupling anomalies.

Findings

Photon fusion can produce multiple Higgs bosons at muon colliders.

Strategies to enhance photon fusion signals over vector-boson-fusion are proposed.

Total rates are sensitive to potential anomalies in Higgs self-couplings.

Abstract

Multi-TeV muon colliders promise an unprecedented potential for exploring the particle-physics energy frontier, and, at the same time, can probe with fantastic accuracy the precise structure of the Standard Model, and in particular of the Higgs boson sector. Here we consider the possibility to measure the loop-suppressed single-, double-, triple-Higgs boson production mediated by the collinear-photon scattering in the channels $\mu^+\mu^-\to\mu^+\mu^-\gamma^\ast \gamma^\ast \to \mu^+\mu^- [H,HH,HHH]$. We study total rates and kinematical distributions in the Standard Model, and compare them with the corresponding vector-boson-fusion processes $V^\ast V^\ast\to H,HH,HHH$ at muon collisions center-of-mass energies in the range between 1.5 and 100 TeV. Possible strategies for enhancing the $\gamma\gamma\to H,HH,HHH$ signal over the dominant vector-boson-fusion production are proposed. The sensitivity of total rates to possible anomalies in the Higgs-boson self-couplings is also discussed.