Boosting VBF Reconstruction at Muon Colliders

TL;DR

This paper proposes using asymmetric beam energies at muon colliders to improve forward muon detection, thereby enhancing the study of electroweak processes like vector boson fusion despite detector limitations.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach of asymmetric beam configurations to boost forward muons into detector acceptance, improving physics analysis capabilities.

Findings

Asymmetric beam setups increase forward muon detection efficiency.

Enhanced discrimination between W- and Z-initiated processes.

Partial recovery of physics potential with limited detector coverage.

Abstract

Forward muon detection at high-energy muon colliders is crucial for resolving the underlying electroweak process. Detecting these muons is challenging in current detector designs, limited by the shielding required to suppress the beam-induced background. This work proposes using asymmetric beam energies to boost one of the forward muons into the detector acceptance, enhancing the ability to distinguish between $W$- and $Z$-initiated vector boson fusion processes. We demonstrate the capabilities of such an asymmetric collider using VBF Higgs production at 3 and 10 TeV muon colliders with modest boost asymmetries. Asymmetric beam configurations can partially recover the physics potential lost in forward regions when detector coverage is limited.