Higgs and top production in the reaction γe → v bb̅W at TeV linear collider energies

For an electron-photon collider the complete tree-leve cross sections of the reaction γe → vbb̅W are computed at center-of-mass energies between 0.5 and 2.0 TeV, for top masses of 160 to 200 GeV and Higgs masses between 80 and 140 GeV within the Standard Model. It is shown that most of the vbb̅W events are due to Higgs and Z/γ * production (with H, Z/γ *→ bb̅ decay) while top production (with t→ bW decay) is about 50% smaller. Multiperipheral background and interferences are small, respectively negligible, in the energy range studied. By convoluting the basic cross sections with an energy spectrum of the backscattered photon beam, and inserting linear collider luminosities as anticipated in present designs, realistic vbb̅W event rates are estimated. This results in large event rates for γe→?tb and γe→ vHW. We estimate that the CKM matrix element ¦Vtb¦can be probed from the vtb final state to an accuracy of 1–3% at $sqrt {s_{e^{+}{e}^{-}}}{>↦op ¡m}$. Assuming an effective Lagrangian based on dimension-6 operators we discuss the sensitivity for detecting deviations of the HWW coupling from the Standard Model in the reaction γe→ vHW.