Higgs Physics with a gamma gamma Collider Based on CLIC 1

TL;DR

This paper proposes the CLICHE gamma-gamma collider based on CLIC 1 to produce and study light Higgs bosons, enabling precise measurements that can differentiate between Standard Model and beyond Standard Model Higgs scenarios.

Contribution

It introduces the design and physics potential of CLICHE, a low-energy gamma-gamma collider capable of producing large numbers of light Higgs bosons for detailed study.

Findings

Potential to produce 20,000 Higgs bosons annually

Accurate measurement of Higgs mass and decay modes

Ability to distinguish between different Higgs models

Abstract

We present the machine parameters and physics capabilities of the CLIC Higgs Experiment (CLICHE), a low-energy $\gamma\gamma$ collider based on CLIC 1, the demonstration project for the higher-energy two-beam accelerator CLIC. CLICHE is conceived as a factory capable of producing around 20,000 light Higgs bosons per year. We discuss the requirements for the CLIC 1 beams and a laser backscattering system capable of producing a $\gamma\gamma$ total (peak) luminosity of $2.0 (0.36) \times 10^{34}$ cm$^{-2}$s$^{-1}$ with $E_{CM}(\gamma \gamma) \sim 115$ GeV. We show how CLICHE could be used to measure accurately the mass, $\bar b b$, $WW$ and $\gamma \gamma$ decays of a light Higgs boson. We illustrate how these measurements may distinguish between the Standard Model Higgs boson and those in supersymmetric and more general two-Higgs-doublet models, complementing the measurements to be made with other accelerators. We also comment on other prospects in $\gamma\gamma$ and $e^- \gamma$ physics with CLICHE.