Final results of the searches for neutral Higgs bosons in e+ e- collisions at s**(1/2) up to 209-GeV

The final results of the ALEPH search for the Standart Model Higgs boson at LEP, with data collected in the year 2000 at center-of-mass energies up to 209 GeV, are presented. The changes with respect to the preceding publication are described and a complete study of systematic effects is reported. The findings of this final analysis confirm the preliminary results published in November 2000 shortly after the closing down of the LEP collider: a significant excess of events is observed, consistent with the production of a 115 GeV/c2 Standard Model Higgs boson. The final results of the searches for the neutral Higgs bosons od the MSSM are also reported, in terms of limits on mh, mA and tanβ. Limits are also set on mh in the case of invisible decays

Search for the standard model Higgs boson at LEP

The four LEP Collaborations, ALEPH, DELPHI, L3 and OPAL, have collected a total of 2461 pb(-1) of e(+)e(-) collision data at centre-of-mass energies between 189 and 209 GeV. The data are used to search for the Standard Model Higgs boson. The search results of the four Collaborations are combined and examined in a likelihood test for their consistency with two hypotheses: the background hypothesis and the signal plus background hypothesis. The corresponding confidences have been computed as functions of the hypothetical Higgs boson mass. A lower bound of 114.4 GeV/c(2) is established, at the 95% confidence level, on the mass of the Standard Model Higgs boson. The LEP data are also used to set upper bounds on the HZZ coupling for various assumptions concerning the decay of the Higgs boson. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved