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Study of single top production at high energy electron positron colliders

The effect of single top production on the study of top quark pair production in future high energy electron--positron colliders is evaluated. The rate of the single top quark production process is sizeable throughout a large range of center-of-mass energies and cannot easily be distinguished from the dominant pair production process. We discuss the impact on the top quark mass extraction from a scan through the pair production threshold and the determination of top quark form factors in the continuum. These results advocate for the exploration of the inclusive $e^+e^-\rightarrow W^+bW^-\bar{b}$ process, that includes both top quark pair and single top quark production.