Perturbative QCD effects and the search for a H->WW->l nu l nu signal at the Tevatron

The Tevatron experiments have recently excluded a Standard Model Higgs boson in the mass range 160 - 170 GeV at the 95% confidence level. This result is based on sophisticated analyses designed to maximize the ratio of signal and background cross-sections. In this paper we study the production of a Higgs boson of mass 160 GeV in the gg -> H -> WW -> l nu l nu channel. We choose a set of cuts like those adopted in the experimental analysis and compare kinematical distributions of the final state leptons computed in NNLO QCD to lower-order calculations and to those obtained with the event generators PYTHIA, HERWIG and MC@NLO. We also show that the distribution of the output from an Artificial Neural Network obtained with the different tools does not show significant differences. However, the final acceptance computed with PYTHIA is smaller than those obtained at NNLO and with HERWIG and MC@NLO. We also investigate the impact of the underlying event and hadronization on our results.Comment: Extra discussion and references adde

The Higgs Sector and CoGeNT/DAMA-Like Dark Matter in Supersymmetric Models

Recent data from CoGeNT and DAMA are roughly consistent with a very light dark matter particle with m\sim 4-10\gev and spin-independent cross section of order \sigma_{SI} \sim (1-3)\times 10^{-4}\pb. An important question is whether these observations are compatible with supersymmetric models obeying $\Omega h^2\sim 0.11$ without violating existing collider constraints and precision measurements. In this talk, I review the fact the the Minimal Supersymmetric Model allows insufficient flexibility to achieve such compatibility, basically because of the highly constrained nature of the MSSM Higgs sector in relation to LEP limits on Higgs bosons. I then outline the manner in which the more flexible Higgs sectors of the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Model and an Extended Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Model allow large $\sigma_{SI}$ and $\Omega h^2\sim 0.11$ at low LSP mass without violating LEP, Tevatron, BaBar and other experimental limits. The relationship of the required Higgs sectors to the NMSSM "ideal-Higgs" scenarios is discussed.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures. To appear in Proceedings of PASCOS 2010. The paper is a compilation of talks given at: PASCOS 2010, ORSAY Workshop on "Higgs Hunting", and SLAC Workshop on "Topologies for Early LHC Searches

Combination of Standard Model Higgs searches at CDF

We present the latest combination of searches for a standard model (SM) Higgs boson in ppbar collisions at \sqrts= 1.96 TeV recorded by the CDF~II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. Using data corresponding to 2.3-5.9 fb-1 of integrated luminosity, we perform searches in a number of different production and decay modes and then combine them to improve sensitivity. No excess in data above that expected from backgrounds is observed; therefore, we set upper limits on the production cross section times branching fraction as a function of the SM Higgs boson mass (mH). The combined observed (expected) limit is 1.9 (1.8) times the SM prediction at mH = 115 Gev/c^2 and 1.0 (1.1) times the SM prediction at mH = 165 GeV/c^2.Comment: ICHEP 2010 Conference proceeding, 4 page

Other BSM Searches at the LHC

A review of the discovery potential of LHC for new phenomena beyond the Standard Model (BSM) other than Supersymmetry in the early phase of running is presented. Topics covered include searches for extra dimensions in different scenarios (ADD, Randall-Sundrum, black holes ...), resonance hunting in di-lepton, di-photon and di-jet final states, searches for contact interactions, heavy stable charged particles, technicolor, etc. The strategies of the ATLAS and CMS experiments to understand the detectors and prepare them for "search" mode and the prospects for discoveries using early data are described.Comment: 9 pages, 11 figures, Invited LHC review talk at HCP2008, 19th Hadron Collider Physics Symposium 2008, Galena, IL, USA, May 27-31 200

A radiatively improved fermiophobic Higgs boson scenario

The naive fermiophobic scenario is unstable under radiative corrections, due to the chiral-symmetry breaking induced by fermion mass terms. In a recent study, the problem of including the radiative corrections has been tackled via an effective field theory approach. The renormalized Yukawa couplings are assumed to vanish at a high energy scale $\Lambda$, and their values at the electroweak scale are computed via modified Renormalization Group Equations. We show that, in case a fermiophobic Higgs scenario shows up at the LHC, a linear collider program will be needed to accurately measure the radiative Yukawa structure, and consequently constrain the $\Lambda$ scale.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, Proceedings of the 2011 International Workshop on Future Linear Colliders (LCWS11), Granada (Spain), 26-30 September 201

Search for the Standard Model Higgs boson in final states with bb quarks at the Tevatron

We present the result of searches for a low mass Standard Model Higgs boson produced in association with a $W$ or a $Z$ boson at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=$1.96 TeV with the CDF and D0 detectors at the Fermilab Tevatron collider. The search is performed in events containing one or two $b$ tagged jets in association with either two leptons, or one lepton and an imbalance in transverse energy, or simply a large imbalance in transverse energy. Datasets corresponding to up to 8.5 fb$^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity are considered in the analyses. These are the most powerful channels in the search for a low mass Higgs boson at the Tevatron. Recent sensitivity improvements are discussed. For a Higgs mass of 115 \gevcc, the expected sensitivity for the most sensitive individual analyses reaches 2.3 times the SM prediction at 95% confidence level (C.L.), with all limits below 5 times the SM. Additionally, a $WZ/ZZ$ cross-section measurement is performed to validate the analysis techniques deployed for searching for the Higgs