Observing<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mover><mml:mrow><mml:mi>H</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo>→</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:mover></mml:mrow></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:msup><mml:mrow><mml:mi>W</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo>(</mml:mo><mml:mi>*</mml:mi><mml:mo>)</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:msup></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:msup><mml:mrow><mml:mi>W</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo>(</mml:mo><mml:mi>*</mml:mi><mml:mo>)</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:msup></mml:mrow><mml:mo>→</mml:mo><mml:mrow><mml:msup><mml:mrow><mml:mi>e</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo>±</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:msup></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:msup><mml:mrow><mml:mi>μ</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo>∓</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:msup></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:msub><mml:mrow><mml:mi>p</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mi>T</mml:mi></mml:mrow></mml:msub></mml:mrow></mml:math>in weak boson fusion with dual forward jet tagging at the CERN LHC

Abstract

Weak boson fusion promises to be a copious source of intermediate mass standard model Higgs bosons at the CERN LHC. The additional very energetic forward jets in these events provide for powerful background suppression tools. We analyze the $\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{H}{W}^{(*)}{W}^{(*)}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{e}^{\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}}{\ensuremath{\mu}}^{\ensuremath{\mp}}{p}_{T}$ decay mode for a Higgs boson mass in the 130--200 GeV range. A parton level analysis of the dominant backgrounds (production of W pairs, $t\overline{t}$ and $\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{Z}\ensuremath{\tau}\ensuremath{\tau}$ in association with jets) demonstrates that this channel allows the observation of $\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{H}{W}^{(*)}{W}^{(*)}$ in a virtually background-free environment, yielding a significant Higgs boson signal with an integrated luminosity of $5{\mathrm{fb}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ or less. Weak boson fusion achieves a much better signal to background ratio than inclusive $\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{H}{e}^{\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}}{\ensuremath{\mu}}^{\ensuremath{\mp}}{p}_{T}$ and is therefore the most promising search channel in the 130--200 GeV mass range.