Muon trident process at far-forward LHC detectors

Abstract

The electromagnetic production of a dilepton pair in the muon - ion scattering, usually denoted muon trident process, is investigated considering the feasibility of studying processes induced by muons at LHC using its far-forward detectors. The total and differential cross - sections are estimated taking into account of the Bethe-Heitler and bremsstrahlung channels, and predictions for the event rates expected for muon - tungsten ($\mu W$) collisions at the LHC energies are presented. Our results indicate that the observation of the muon trident process is feasible at FASER$\nu$. In particular, our results indicate that the electromagnetic production of $\tau^+ \tau^-$ pairs in the $\mu W$ scattering can, in principle, be observed for the first time ever at the LHC. In addition, we present our predictions for the production of QED bound states. Finally, results for the trident process at the FASER$\nu$2 detector are also presented.