The physics potential of forward muons at a muon collider
In this talk I explore the physics potential of forward muon detection at muon colliders for probing neutral effective vector boson production across various kinematic regimes. Vectors with relatively low energy produce the Higgs boson and the extended muon angular coverage enables studies of the Higgs properties, such as the measurement of the total production cross section and of the branching ratio to invisible final states. New heavy particles could be produced by vectors of higher energy, through Higgs portal interactions. If the new particles are invisible, the detection of the forward muons is essential in order to search for this scenario. The angular correlations of the forward muons are sensitive to the quantum interference between the vector boson helicity amplitudes and can be exploited for the characterisation of vector boson scattering and fusion processes. This is illustrated by analysing the CP properties of the Higgs coupling to the Z boson. Our findings establish a compelling physics case and provide benchmarks for the design of a specialized forward muon detector.