Determining the spin and the parity quantum numbers of the recently
discovered Higgs-like boson at the LHC is a matter of great importance. In this
paper, we consider the possibility of using the kinematics of the tagging jets
in Higgs production via the vector boson fusion (VBF) process to test the
tensor structure of the Higgs-vector boson (HVV) interaction and to determine
the spin and CP properties of the observed resonance. We show that an anomalous
HVV vertex, in particular its explicit momentum dependence, drastically
affects the rapidity between the two scattered quarks and their transverse
momenta and, hence, the acceptance of the kinematical cuts that allow to select
the VBF topology. The sensitivity of these observables to different spin-parity
assignments, including the dependence on the LHC center of mass energy, are
evaluated. In addition, we show that in associated Higgs production with a
vector boson some kinematical variables, such as the invariant mass of the
system and the transverse momenta of the two bosons and their separation in
rapidity, are also sensitive to the spin--parity assignments of the Higgs--like
boson.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figure