Observation of a New State in the Search for the Higgs Boson at CMS (Publications of the Scuola Normale Superiore Book 18)

This book describes the searches that lead to the discovery of a Higgs boson performed at CMS, one of the two main experiments at the CERN LHC. After an overview of the theory and of the CMS experiment, all search channels are described, with emphasis on the ones with the best sensitivity. The statistical methodology used to analyse and the outcomes of the searches and the discovery results are then presented in detail. Front Matter....Pages i-xii The standard model of elementary particles....Pages 1-14 The CMS experiment at the CERN LHC....Pages 15-58 Search for a Higgs boson in the H → WW → 2 l 2 ν channel....Pages 59-94 Searches for a Higgs boson in the H → ZZ → 4 l decay channels....Pages 95-118 Searches for a light Higgs boson in the γγ and ττ final states....Pages 119-134 Searches for VH and tt̄H associated production....Pages 135-145 Searches for a heavy Higgs boson decaying into WW, ZZ in final states with hadronic jets and neutrinos....Pages 147-163 Statistical analysis for Higgs boson searches....Pages 165-182 Results of the CMS searches for a standard model Higgs boson....Pages 183-206 Conclusions....Pages 207-208 Back Matter....Pages 209-221 Annotation This book describes the searches that lead to the discovery of a Higgs boson performed at CMS, one of the two main experiments at the CERN LHC. After an overview of the theory and of the CMS experiment, all search channels are described, with emphasis on the ones with the best sensitivity