Higgs boson searches at the Tevatron

This article reviews the Higgs searches at the Tevatron, as presented over the summer of 2012; both standard model (SM) and beyond the standard model (BSM) results are discussed as detailed (arXiv: 1207.0449; Phys. Rev. Lett., 2012, 109: 071804; Phys. Rev. D, 2012, 85: 032005). We discuss the combination of searches by the CDF and D0 Collaborations for the standard model Higgs boson in the mass range 100–200 GeV/c2 produced in the the gg → H, WH, ZH, t{ie27-1}H, and vector boson fusion production modes, and decaying in the H → b{ie27-2}, H → W+W−, H → ZZ, H → τ+τ−, and H → γγ modes. The data, collected at the Fermilab Tevatron collider in p{ie27-3} collisions at {ie27-4} TeV, correspond to integrated luminosities of up to 10 fb−1. In the absence of signal, we expect to exclude the regions 100<mH < 120 GeV/c2 and 139<mH < 184 GeV/c2. We exclude, at the 95% C.L., two regions: 100<mH < 103 GeV/c2, and 147<mH < 180 GeV/c2. We observe a significant excess of events in the mass range between 115 and 140 GeV/c2. The local significance corresponds to 3.0 standard deviations at mH = 120 GeV/c2; the global significance (incorporating the look-elsewhere effect) for such an excess anywhere in the full mass range investigated is approximately 2.5 standard deviations. Furthermore, we separately combine searches for H → b{ie27-5}, H → W+W− and H → γγ. We find that the excess is concentrated in the H → b{ie27-6} channel, appearing in the searches over a broad range of mH; the maximum local significance of 3.3 standard deviations corresponds to a global significance of approximately 3.1 standard deviations. The observed signal strengths in all channels are consistent with the expectation for a standard model Higgs boson at mH = 125 GeV/c2. The production of neutral Higgs bosons in association with b-quarks can be significantly enhanced in various beyond the standard model scenarios, including Supersymmetry. The recent combination of such searches from the two collaborations is discussed.