Getting ready for Physics at the LHC with the CMS Detector

In order to get ready for physics at the LHC, the CMS experiment has to be set up for data taking. The data have to be well understood before new physics can be investigated. On the other hand, there are standard processes, well known from previous experiments and from simulation, which will help to understand the data of the detector in the early days of the LHC.Comment: presented at Lake Louise Winter Institute 2006, 17-23 February 2006, Alberta, Canad

Comparison of Higgs Boson Mass and Width Determination of the LHC and a Linear Collider

Two important properties of a Higgs boson are its mass and width. They may distinguish the Standard Model (SM) Higgs boson from Higgs bosons of extended models. We show results from a direct mass and width reconstruction for a Higgs boson mass range from 120 to 340 GeV. The mass and width have been reconstructed from the H --> ZZstar --> mu+mu-mu+mu- reaction in an LHC simulation of the CMS detector. The determined mass accuracy has been compared with that obtained from studies for a linear collider (LC). The mass precision from the latter studies is derived by scaling previous LC simulation results according to the expected event rates. For the Higgs boson width we compare a direct determination with indirect methods and find good complementarity.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Searching for Higgs Bosons in Association with Top Quark Pairs in the H -> bb Decay Mode

Search for the Higgs Boson is one of the prime goals of the LHC. Higgs bosons lighter than 130 GeV decay mainly to a b-quark pair. While the detection of a directly produced Higgs boson in the bb channel is impossible because of the huge QCD background, the channel ttH -> lnqqbbbb is very promising in the Standard Model and the MSSM. We discuss an event reconstruction and selection method based on likelihood functions. The CMS detector response is performed with parametrisations obtained from detailed simulations. Various physics and detector performance scenarios are investigated and the results are presented. It turns out that excellent b-tagging performance and good mass resolution are essential for this channel.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure

Blacktop

Nonfiction short of the author\u27s Christian elementary school days

Prospects for Higgs Boson Searches in the Channel WH -> lnbb

We present a method how to detect the WH -> lnbb in the high luminosity LHC environment with the CMS detector. This study is performed with fast detector response simulation including high luminosity event pile up. The main aspects of reconstruction are pile up jet rejection, identification of b-jets and improvement of Higgs mass resolution. The detection potential in the SM for m(H) < 130 GeV and in the MSSM is only encouraging for high integrated luminosity. Nevertheless it is possible to extract important Higgs parameters which are useful to elucidate the nature of the Higgs sector. In combination with other channels, this channel provides valuable information on Higgs boson couplings.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure

On Desquamation

An essay exploring the implications of the process of desquamation