Particle Physics in Birmingham

Particle Physics Seminar

Wednesday 24thth May 2023 at 13:30
SLT

(coffee served at 1315)

Building the case For a Muon Collider

Karol Křížka (Birmingham University)


Abstract

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has enjoyed great success in completing the last piece of the Standard Model (SM); Electroweak Symmetry Breaking characterized by a single Higgs boson. The discovery of the Higgs boson by the ATLAS and CMS experiments made the SM self-consistent. However experimental observations tell us that the model is not complete (no gravity, neutrino masses or Dark Matter). This is a clear indication of physics Beyond the Standard Model (BSM). Current experiments have so far failed to provide an answer to any of these questions. While the LHC run is far from over, such large scale facilities have a very long lead times (decades). It means we need to start planning for them now.

The Muon Collider provides an excellent environment for studying the stated goals of a future collider. The fully leptonic initial state allows for precision measurements of the Standard Model and can probe much higher energies with a small ring size. However the instability of the muons create challenges for both the accelerator and detectors. The seminar will give an overview of the significant progress that has happened on both fronts and highlight the areas that still needed Research and Development.