The Update of the European Strategy for Particle Physics recommended to integrate an international design study for a muon collider in the European Roadmap for accelerator R&D (2022). In response to this, the Laboratory Directors Group, which represents the large European Particle Physics Laboratories has initiated an International Muon Collider Collaboration to study the concept. The study started in 2021.
The current muon collider baseline concept was developed by the Muon Accelerator Program – MAP – USCollaboration (between 2010 and 2017), which conducted a focused program of technology R&D to evaluate its feasibility.
The principle of ionization cooling that is required to reach sufficient luminosity for a muon collider was demonstrated by the UK Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment collaboration - MICE.
It is worth noting that while the MAP scheme is based on the use of a proton beam (which is also the baseline for the collider concept being developed by the IMCC), the LEMMA (INFN Low EMittance Muon Accelerator) alternative approach uses positrons to produce muon pairs at threshold. However, the difficulty to achieve high muon beam currents, and hence competitive luminosity, requires novel ideas to overcome this limitation.
More Information:
Websites
Articles
“Particle Physics Dream of a Muon Collider”, Scientific American
“Muon Accelerators for Particle Physics”, JINST Special Issue
“Demonstration of cooling by the Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment”, Nature