Transverse Polarization of Top Quarks Produced at a Photon-Photon Collider

Abstract

At future $\gamma \gamma$ colliders copious production of $t \bar{t}$ pairs is possible. This would allow a detailed investigation of the interactions involving the top quark. We propose some orrelations which are sensitive to $t \bar{t}$ final state interactions and we compute the QCD and standard model Higgs boson contributions to these correlations. QCD induced transverse polarization of top quarks is found to be sizeable and measurable at a high-energy $e^+e^-$ collider with an integrated luminosity of 10 $({\rm fb})^{-1}$ which is converted into a photon collider by backscattering of laser photons.