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Gluino Pair Production in High-Energy Photon Collisions

We study the potential of high-energy photon colliders for the production of gluino pairs within the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). In this model, the process gamma gamma -> gluino gluino is mediated by quark/squark box diagrams with enhancements for up-type quarks/squarks from their larger charges and for third generation squarks from their large mass splittings, generated by the mixing of left- and right-handed states. Far above threshold and in scenarios with very heavy squarks, resolved photons can contribute significantly at tree level. Taking into account the laser photon backscattering spectrum, electron and laser beam polarization effects, and current mass exclusion limits, we find that gluino pair production in high-energy photon collisions should be visible over large regions of the MSSM parameter space, contrary to what has been found for e^+e^- annihilation. In addition, the cross section rises rather steeply, so that a gluino mass determination with a precision of a few GeV should be feasible for a wide range of post-LEP benchmark points.