Search for a Standard Model Higgs Boson with a Dilepton and Missing Energy Signature

Search for a Standard Model Higgs Boson with a Dilepton and Missing Energy Signature
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 136
Release: 2011
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The subject of this thesis is the search for a standard model Higgs boson decaying to a pair of W bosons that in turn decay leptonically, H → W+W- → $\bar{l}$vl$\bar{v}$. This search is performed considering events produced in p$\bar{p}$ collisions at √s = 1.96 TeV, where two oppositely charged lepton candidates (e+e-, e±[mu]±, or [mu]+[mu]}-), and missing transverse energy, have been reconstructed. The data were collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron collider, and are tested against the standard model predictions computed for a Higgs boson with mass in the range 115-200 GeV. No excess of events over background is observed, and limits on Standard Model Higgs boson production are determined. An interpretation of these limits within the hypothesis of a fourth-generation extension to the standard model is also given. The overall analysis scheme is the same for the three dilepton pairs being considered (e+e-, e±[mu]±, or [mu]+[mu]-); this thesis, however, describes in detail the study of the dimuon final state.

Search for the Standard Model Higgs Boson in the Missing Transverse Energy and B-jet Signature in Proton-antiproton Collisions at a Center-of-mass Energy of 1.96 TeV.

Search for the Standard Model Higgs Boson in the Missing Transverse Energy and B-jet Signature in Proton-antiproton Collisions at a Center-of-mass Energy of 1.96 TeV.
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 236
Release: 2009
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We report on the results of a search for the standard model Higgs boson produced in association with a W or Z boson in p{bar p} collisions at (square root)s = 1.96 TeV recorded by the CDF II experiment at the Tevatron in a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.1 fb−1. We consider events having no identified charged leptons, a large imbalance in transverse momentum, and two or three jets where at least one jet contains a secondary vertex consistent with the decay of a b hadron. The main backgrounds are modeled with innovative techniques using data. The sensitivity of the search is optimized using multivariate discriminant techniques. We find good agreement between data and the standard model predictions. We place 95% confidence level upper limits on production cross section times branching ratio for several Higgs boson masses ranging from 110 GeV=c2 to 150 GeV=c2. For a mass of 115 GeV=c2 the observed (expected) limit is 6.9 (5.6) times the standard model prediction.

Search for Higgs Boson Production in Dilepton and Missing Energy Final States with 5.4 Fb-1 of P-pbar Collisions at Sqrt(s)

Search for Higgs Boson Production in Dilepton and Missing Energy Final States with 5.4 Fb-1 of P-pbar Collisions at Sqrt(s)
Author:
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Total Pages:
Release: 2010
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A search for the standard model Higgs boson is presented using events with two charged leptons and large missing transverse energy selected from 5.4 fb−1 of integrated luminosity in p{bar p} collisions at √s = 1.96 TeV collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. No significant excess of events above background predictions is found, and observed (expected) upper limits at 95% confidence level on the rate of Higgs boson production are derived that are a factor of 1.55 (1.36) above the predicted standard model cross section at m{sub H} = 165 GeV.

Search for the Standard Model Higgs Boson in the H → ZZ → l + l - qq Decay Channel at CMS

Search for the Standard Model Higgs Boson in the H → ZZ → l + l - qq Decay Channel at CMS
Author: Francesco Pandolfi
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 137
Release: 2013-08-15
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3319009036

The theoretical foundations of the Standard Model of elementary particles relies on the existence of the Higgs boson, a particle which has been revealed for the first time by the experiments run at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in 2012. As the Higgs boson is an unstable particle, its search strategies were based on its decay products. In this thesis, Francesco Pandolfi conducted a search for the Higgs boson in the H → ZZ → l + l - qq Decay Channel with 4.6 fb -1 of 7 TeV proton-proton collision data collected by the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment. The presence of jets in the final state poses a series of challenges to the experimenter: both from a technical point of view, as jets are complex objects and necessitate of ad-hoc reconstruction techniques, and from an analytical one, as backgrounds with jets are copious at hadron colliders, therefore analyses must obtain high degrees of background rejection in order to achieve competitive sensitivity. This is accomplished by following two directives: the use of an angular likelihood discriminant, capable of discriminating events likely to originate from the decay of a scalar boson from non-resonant backgrounds, and by using jet parton flavor tagging, selecting jets compatible with quark hadronization and discarding jets more likely to be initiated by gluons. The events passing the selection requirements in 4.6 fb -1 of data collected by the CMS detector are examined, in the search of a possible signal compatible with the decay of a heavy Higgs boson. The thesis describes the statistical tools and the results of this analysis. This work is a paradigm for studies of the Higgs boson with final states with jets. The non-expert physicists will enjoy a complete and eminently readable description of a proton-proton collider analysis. At the same time, the expert reader will learn the details of the searches done with jets at CMS.

Search for Standard Model Higgs Boson in H ---] WW Channel at CDF.

Search for Standard Model Higgs Boson in H ---] WW Channel at CDF.
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 6
Release: 2009
Genre:
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We present a search for standard model (SM) Higgs boson to WW{sup (*)} production in dilepton plus missing transverse energy final states in data collected by the CDF II detector corresponding to 4.8 fb−1 of integrated luminosity. To maximize sensitivity, the multivariate discriminants used to separate signal from background in the opposite-sign dilepton event sample are independently optimized for final states with zero, one, or two or more identified jets. All significant Higgs boson production modes (gluon fusion, associated production with either a W or Z boson, and vector boson fusion) are considered in determining potential signal contributions. We also incorporate a separate analysis of the same-sign dilepton event sample which potentially contains additional signal events originating from associated Higgs boson production mechanisms. Cross section limits relative to the combined SM predictions are presented for a range of Higgs boson mass hypotheses between 110 and 200 GeV/c2.

Search for the Standard Model Higgs Boson in Association with a W Boson at

Search for the Standard Model Higgs Boson in Association with a W Boson at
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2013
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I present a search for the standard model Higgs boson, H, produced in association with a W boson in data events containing a charged lepton (electron or muon), missing energy, and two or three jets. The data analysed correspond to 9.7 fb-1 of integrated luminosity collected at a center-of-momentum energy of √s = 1.96 TeV with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron p$ar{p}$ collider. This search uses algorithms to identify the signature of bottom quark production and multivariate techniques to improve the purity of H → b$ar{b}$ production. We validate our methodology by measuring WZ and ZZ production with Z → b$ar{b}$ and find production rates consistent with the standard model prediction. For a Higgs boson mass of 125 GeV, we determine a 95% C.L. upper limit on the production of a standard model Higgs boson of 4.8 times the standard model Higgs boson production cross section, while the expected limit is 4.7 times the standard model production cross section. I also present a novel method for improving the energy resolution for charged particles within hadronic signatures. This is achieved by replacing the calorimeter energy measurement for charged particles within a hadronic signature with the tracking momentum measurement. This technique leads to a ̃20% improvement in the jet energy resolution, which yields a ̃7% improvement in the reconstructed dijet mass width for H → b$ar{b}$ events. The improved energy calculation leads to a ̃5% improvement in our expected 95% C.L. upper limit on the Higgs boson production cross section.