THE MUON COLLIDER—STATUS AND PHYSICS PROSPECTS

The current status of the muon collider is presented, with a brief historical review. The proton source and the pion production and decay channel needed for a first muon collider (FMC) are described. A brief review of ionization cooling theory is followed by the current status of cooling ideas. The acceleration scheme and the collider ring are presented, followed by the backgrounds expected in a muon collider detector and the physics potential of such a detector. The physics potential of a muon storage ring that acts as an intense neutrino source of well-defined flavor is reviewed.