Searches for electroweak singlets at future plasma wakefield colliders

Abstract

We study the sensitivity of future 10 TeV plasma wakefield colliders to a real electroweak singlet scalar $S$ coupled to the Standard Model through the Higgs portal. Using luminosity spectra obtained from particle-in-cell simulations, we compare $e^+e^-$ and $e^-e^-$ configurations with both flat and round beam profiles, as well as a $γγ$ collider based on Compton backscattering of laser photons off the $e^-e^-$ beams. The $e^-e^-$ and $γγ$ options avoid the open challenge of accelerating positrons in plasma. Without a positron beam, however, the vector boson fusion channels $e^+e^-\toν\barνS$ and $e^+e^-\toν\barνSS$, which dominate at $e^+e^-$ colliders, can only proceed through secondary positrons and are heavily suppressed. At a $γγ$ collider, this loss in signal rate is partially compensated by additional photon-initiated processes. While the $e^-e^-$ configurations are not as competitive, both the $e^+e^-$ and $γγ$ wakefield options have a reach qualitatively similar to that of a 10 TeV muon collider and the FCC-hh. Between the two, the $γγ$ option gives the stronger sensitivity if the achievable geometric luminosities of $e^+e^-$ colliders are more than a factor of $\sim$3 lower than that of the $γγ$ collider.