A Search for the Standard Model Higgs in $t\bar{t}$H, H$\rightarrow$$b\bar{b}$ decay channel at $\sqrt s$ = 8 TeV

ORAL

Abstract

The most important goal of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is to elucidate the mechanism of electroweak symmetry breaking. The Standard Model(SM) Higgs Boson is thought to be a prime candidate for this. The newly discovered boson announced on July 4th, 2012, with a mass of ~125GeV, has so far been shown to be consistent with a SM Higgs. However, the final confirmation of this new particle as the SM Higgs depends on subsequent measurements of its properties. The observation of this new particle in association with top-quark pairs would allow the couplings of this particle to top and bottom quarks to be directly measured. $t\bar{t}$Higgs, Higgs to $b\bar{b}$ is an excellent channel to explore due to the dominant branching ratio of Higgs to $b\bar{b}$ and the kinematic handle the $t\bar{t}$ offers on the event. However, it presents a plethora of difficult challenges due to a low signal to background ratio and uncertainties on kinematically similar SM backgrounds. This talk describes a search for the SM Higgs boson in association with top quarks. Data to Monte Carlo comparisons are made with with the full 19.4 $fb^{-1}$ 2012 dataset of pp collisions collected by the CMS detector.

Authors

  • John Wood

    University of Virginia