Picosec R&D towards Muon Collider applications

Abstract

The Muon Collider represents a possible breakthrough in the high energy physics field, thanks to its potential of discovery in the multi $TeV$ energy range, and to its possibility to do precision measurements due to the clean collision environment from the quantum chromodynamics background. Nevertheless, muons decays in $2.2\mu s$, producing a source of background directly and indirectly by the interaction with the surrounding materials. To cope with this so-called Beam Induced Background, a proposed solution exploits a precise-timing MicroPattern Gaseous Detector called Picosec to tag $\mu$ in the muon spectrometer. Picosec is a detector based on the Micromegas technology, that can reach exceptional performance in terms of time resolution, up to tens of picoseconds. However, its components need to be optimized to make the detector suitable for large experiments. In this study, recent results obtained regarding the optimization of a key component such as the photocathode will be presented. On the other hand, the standard gas mixture, made with environmentally unfriendly gases, needs to be addressed. In the following, the research regarding alternative mixtures will be presented. In the conclusion, a brief overview of some of the future R&D activities that are foreseen will be provided.