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Making the $μ$OST of the Muon Collider

Henry T. Klest

TL;DR

The paper argues that a fixed-target program using the Muon Collider beam, μOST, can uniquely access multi-dimensional hadron structure in the valence region with high $Q^2$ and high luminosity, complementing the Electron-Ion Collider. It outlines energy-luminosity tradeoffs, detector concepts, and environment challenges, proposing a scalable path from 7 TeV to 1.5 TeV beam energies and various target lengths. The physics program spans precision QCD, PDFs, SIDIS, exclusive processes, nuclear PDFs, and SMEFT/BSM searches, including potential $ ext{SV}$-level determinations of $\alpha_s$ and the weak mixing angle via electroweak interference. If technical challenges like pileup and beam-induced background are mitigated, μOST could provide high-statistics, perturbative-scale measurements that map hadron structure in new kinematic regions and offer independent constraints on new physics beyond the Standard Model.

Abstract

The Muon Collider, recently highlighted as Recommendation 1 in the U.S. National Academies report on Elementary Particle Physics, offers a unique opportunity for fixed-target experiments with high energy and luminosity. This paper outlines some of the challenges and possibilities for fixed-target experiments to study the multi-dimensional structure of hadrons at the Muon Collider. We present a sketch of an experiment making use of the high-energy muon beam from the Muon Collider that could serve as the next-generation hadronic physics experiment after the Electron-Ion Collider.

Making the $μ$OST of the Muon Collider

TL;DR

The paper argues that a fixed-target program using the Muon Collider beam, μOST, can uniquely access multi-dimensional hadron structure in the valence region with high and high luminosity, complementing the Electron-Ion Collider. It outlines energy-luminosity tradeoffs, detector concepts, and environment challenges, proposing a scalable path from 7 TeV to 1.5 TeV beam energies and various target lengths. The physics program spans precision QCD, PDFs, SIDIS, exclusive processes, nuclear PDFs, and SMEFT/BSM searches, including potential -level determinations of and the weak mixing angle via electroweak interference. If technical challenges like pileup and beam-induced background are mitigated, μOST could provide high-statistics, perturbative-scale measurements that map hadron structure in new kinematic regions and offer independent constraints on new physics beyond the Standard Model.

Abstract

The Muon Collider, recently highlighted as Recommendation 1 in the U.S. National Academies report on Elementary Particle Physics, offers a unique opportunity for fixed-target experiments with high energy and luminosity. This paper outlines some of the challenges and possibilities for fixed-target experiments to study the multi-dimensional structure of hadrons at the Muon Collider. We present a sketch of an experiment making use of the high-energy muon beam from the Muon Collider that could serve as the next-generation hadronic physics experiment after the Electron-Ion Collider.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 10 sections, 3 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Energy and Luminosity
  3. Detector, Target, and Environment
  4. Physics Case
  5. Precision QCD and Parton Distributions
  6. Semi-Inclusive and Jet Physics
  7. Exclusive Measurements
  8. Nuclear Partonic Structure and QCD Dynamics
  9. BSM Searches
  10. Conclusion

Figures (3)

  • Figure 1: Comparison of luminosity and energy for lepton-scattering facilities. The $\mu$OST box corresponds to 1% of the 1.5 to 7 TeV collider beam being dumped on a 1- to 6-meter long target.
  • Figure 2: Example $\mu$OST detector configuration with acceptance $5 < \theta < 105$ mrad for a 6 meter long target.
  • Figure 3: DIS kinematic plane for 7 TeV and 1.5 TeV beam energies. The kinematic region accessible to a detector with acceptance $\theta_{\mu'}>5$ mrad is highlighted in green. Note the different $y$-axis scales.