Accelerators for Electroweak Physics and Higgs Boson Studies
We discuss the goals, the designs, the state of technical readiness, and the critical R&D needs of the accelerators that are currently under discussion as Higgs and electroweak factories. We also address the respective staging options enabling future energy-frontier colliders. The accelerators covered are based on many different techniques and approaches. They include several circular colliders, various linear colliders, colliders based on energy recovery linacs (ERLs), ERL-ring combinations, as well as γγ colliders. The linear colliders proposed consist of options for the International Linear Collider (ILC), for the Compact Linear Collider (CLIC), for the Cold Copper Collider (C 3 ), and for the more recent Higgs-Energy Lepton Collider (HELEN). ERLs are key components of the Recycling Linear e + e - Collider (ReLiC),of the Energy Recovery Linear Collider (ERLC), and of the Circular Energy Recovery Collider (CERC). Among the more conventional ring colliders the following proposals are featured: the Future Circular Collider (FCC-ee), the Circular Electron Positron Collider (CEPC), the Electron Positron Circular Collider at Fermilab (EPCCF), and the Large Electron Positron collider #3 (LEP-3). In addition, we consider the X-ray FEL based gamma- gamma Collider Higgs Factory (XCC) and the High-Energy High-Luminosity γ-γ collider (HE&HL γγ). Finally, a Higgs factory based on a circular muon collider is mentioned for completeness.