MAIA: A new detector concept for a 10 TeV muon collider

Abstract

Muon colliders offer a compelling opportunity to explore the TeV scale and conduct precision tests of the Standard Model, all within a relatively compact geographical footprint. This paper introduces a new detector concept, MAIA (Muon Accelerator Instrumented Apparatus), optimized for $\sqrt{s}=10$ TeV $\mu^+ \mu^-$ collisions. The detector features an all-silicon tracker immersed in a 5T solenoid field. High-granularity silicon-tungsten and iron-scintillator calorimeters surrounding the solenoid capture high-energy electronic and hadronic showers, respectively, and support particle-flow reconstruction. The outermost subsystem comprises an air-gap muon spectrometer, which contributes to muon identification. The performance of the MAIA detector is evaluated in terms of differential particle reconstruction efficiencies and resolutions. Beam-induced background and incoherent pair production simulations are overlaid to single particle gun samples to assess detector reconstruction capabilities under realistic experimental conditions. Even in the presence of backgrounds, reconstruction efficiencies exceed approximately 95\% for energetic tracks, photons, and charged pions in the central region of the detector. This paper outlines promising avenues for future work, including forward region optimization, opportunities for enhanced flavor tagging and boosted object reconstruction, and technological developments needed to achieve the desired detector performance.