Higgs boson physics in the s-channel at μ+μ- colliders

Techniques and strategies for discovering and measuring the properties of Higgs bosons via s-channel production at a μ+μ- collider, and the associated requirements for the machine and detector, are discussed in detail. The unique feature of s-channel production is that, with good energy resolution, the mass, total width and partial widths of a Higgs boson can be directly measured with remarkable accuracy in most cases. For the expected machine parameters and luminosity the standard model (SM) Higgs boson hSM, with mass <or∼2mW, the light h0 of the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM), and the heavier MSSM Higgs bosons (the CP-odd A0 and the CP-even H0) can all be studied in the s-channel, with the heavier states accessible up to the maximal √(s) over a large fraction of the MSSM parameter space. In addition, it may be possible to discover the A0 and H0 by running the collider at full energy and observing excess events in the bremsstrahlung tail at lower energy. The integrated luminosity, beam resolution and machine/detector features required to distinguish between the hSM and h0 are delineated. (orig.)