Search for neutral Higgs bosons decaying to tau pairs in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

TL;DR

This CMS study searches for neutral Higgs bosons decaying to tau pairs in 7 TeV pp collisions using 4.6 fb^-1 of data, targeting both SM Higgs and MSSM Higgs sectors. The analysis leverages VBF and b-associated production and employs a sophisticated tau-pair mass reconstruction to discriminate signal from backgrounds, incorporating detailed systematic uncertainties. No evidence for Higgs production is found; the paper sets 95% CL limits on σ×BR(H→ττ) for 110–145 GeV and excludes portions of the MSSM parameter space in the m_h^max scenario, including tanβ as low as 7.1 at m_A = 160 GeV. These results extend previous bounds and demonstrate the tau-tau channel’s effectiveness for Higgs searches at the LHC.

Abstract

A search for neutral Higgs bosons decaying to tau pairs at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV is performed using a dataset corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 inverse femtobarns recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The search is sensitive to both the standard model Higgs boson and to the neutral Higgs bosons predicted by the minimal supersymmetric extension of the standard model (MSSM). No excess of events is observed in the tau-pair invariant-mass spectrum. For a standard model Higgs boson in the mass range of 110-145 GeV upper limits at 95% confidence level (CL) on the production cross section are determined. We exclude a Higgs boson with m(H) = 115 GeV with a production cross section 3.2 times of that predicted by the standard model. In the MSSM, upper limits on the neutral Higgs boson production cross section times branching fraction to tau pairs, as a function of the pseudoscalar Higgs boson mass, m(A), sets stringent new bounds in the parameter space, excluding at 95% CL values of tan(beta) as low as 7.1 at m(A) = 160 GeV in the m[h](max) benchmark scenario.

Figures (4)

• Figure 1: Distribution of the tau-pair invariant mass, $m_{\tau\tau}$, in the MSSM Higgs boson search categories: Non b-Tag category (left), b-Tag category (right). The background labelled 'electroweak' combines the contribution from W+jets, Z$\rightarrow ll$, and diboson processes.
• Figure 2: Distribution of the tau-pair invariant mass, $m_{\tau\tau}$, in the SM Higgs boson search categories: 0/1 Jet (top row, linear and log vertical scale), VBF (lower left), and Boosted (lower right). The background labelled 'electroweak' combines the contribution from W+jets, Z$\rightarrow ll$, and diboson processes.
• Figure 3: Region in the parameter space of $\tan\beta$ versus $m_\mathrm{A}$ excluded at 95% CL in the context of the MSSM $m^\mathrm{max}_\mathrm{h}$ scenario. The expected one- and two-standard-deviation ranges and the observed 95% CL upper limits are shown together with the observed excluded region.
• Figure 4: The expected one- and two-standard-deviation ranges are shown together with the observed 95% CL upper limits on the cross section, normalized to the SM expectation for Higgs boson production, as a function of $m_{{H}\xspace}\xspace$.