Search for Neutral Higgs Bosons Decaying to Tau Pairs in pp Collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

This is a condensed description with plots for the analysis arXiv:1202.4083

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/fb 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 mH = 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, mA, sets stringent new bounds in the parameter space, excluding at 95% CL values of tan beta as low as 7.1 at mA = 160 GeV.

Main Results

Measurements of this search are the 95% CL limits on the standard model cross section and the 95% exclusion limit in the MSSM tan beta - mA plane.

SM Higgs boson limit table

MSSM Higgs boson limit table

Figures from CMS-HIG-11-029

Figure	Links	Description
	Figure 1 pdf, png	Tau-pair invariant mass in the 0/1-Jet category. The MC histograms have been normalized to the number of the expected events after the fit.
	Figure 2 pdf, png	Tau-pair invariant mass in the Boosted category. The MC histograms have been normalized to the number of the expected events after the fit.
	Figure 3 pdf, png	Tau-pair invariant mass in the VBF category. The MC histograms have been normalized to the number of the expected events after the fit.
	Figure 4 pdf, png	Tau-pair invariant mass in the No b-Tag category. The MC histograms have been normalized to the number of the expected events after the fit.
	Figure 5 pdf, png	Tau-pair invariant mass in the b-Tag category. The MC histograms have been normalized to the number of the expected events after the fit.
	Figure 6 pdf, png	The expected one- and two-standard-deviation ranges and observed 95% CL upper limits on cross section normalized to the SM expectation as a function of mH.
	Figure 7 pdf, png	Region in the parameter space of tan beta versus mA excluded at 95% CL in the context of the MSSM m scenario. The expected one- and two-standard-deviation ranges and the observed 95% CL upper limits are shown together with the observed excluded region.

Additional plots for public talks

	Figure 8 pdf, png	Tau-pair invariant mass in the 0/1-Jet category (linear plot). The MC histograms have been normalized to the number of the expected events after the fit.
	Figure 9 pdf, png	Tau-pair invariant mass in the No b-Tag category (linear plot). The MC histograms have been normalized to the number of the expected events after the fit.
	Figure 10 pdf, png	Reconstructed number of jets in the e-mu channel
	Figure 11 pdf, png	Reconstructed number of b-tagged jets in the e-mu channel
	Figure 12 pdf, png	Invariant mass distribution for the two leading jets in the mu-tau channel
	Figure 13 pdf, png	Delta eta distribution of the two leading jets in the mu-tau channel
	Figure 14 pdf, png	Invariant mass distribution for the two leading jets in the e-tau channel
	Figure 15 pdf, png	Delta eta distribution of the two leading jets in the e-tau channel
	Figure 16 pdf, png	Distribution of the variable in the e-mu channel
	Figure 17 pdf, png	Distribution of the transverse mass in the mu-tau channel.
	Figure 18 pdf, png	Distribution of the transverse mass in the e-tau channel.
	Figure 19 pdf, png	Results of the energy scale fit for the different hadronic tau decay modes.
	Figure 20 pdf, png	Relative yields of each hadronic tau decay mode resulting from a fit to the inclusive tau mass spectrum floating separately the yields of the individual decay modes.
	Figure 21 pdf, png	Tau-pair invariant mass in the 0/1-Jet category in the e-mu channel. The MC histograms have been normalized to the number of the expected events after the fit.
	Figure 22 pdf, png	Tau-pair invariant mass in the Boosted category in the e-mu channel. The MC histograms have been normalized to the number of the expected events after the fit.
	Figure 23 pdf, png	Tau-pair invariant mass in the VBF category in the e-mu channel. The MC histograms have been normalized to the number of the expected events after the fit.
	Figure 24 pdf, png	Tau-pair invariant mass in the No b-Tag category in the e-mu channel. The MC histograms have been normalized to the number of the expected events after the fit.
	Figure 25 pdf, png	Tau-pair invariant mass in the b-Tag category in the e-mu channel. The MC histograms have been normalized to the number of the expected events after the fit.
	Figure 26 pdf, png	Tau-pair invariant mass in the 0/1-Jet category in the mu-tau channel. The MC histograms have been normalized to the number of the expected events after the fit.
	Figure 27 pdf, png	Tau-pair invariant mass in the Boosted category in the mu-tau channel. The MC histograms have been normalized to the number of the expected events after the fit.
	Figure 28 pdf, png	Tau-pair invariant mass in the VBF category in the mu-tau channel. The MC histograms have been normalized to the number of the expected events after the fit.
	Figure 29 pdf, png	Tau-pair invariant mass in the No b-Tag category in the mu-tau channel. The MC histograms have been normalized to the number of the expected events after the fit.
	Figure 30 pdf, png	Tau-pair invariant mass in the b-Tag category in the mu-tau channel. The MC histograms have been normalized to the number of the expected events after the fit.
	Figure 31 pdf, png	Tau-pair invariant mass in the 0/1-Jet category in the e-tau channel. The MC histograms have been normalized to the number of the expected events after the fit.
	Figure 32 pdf, png	Tau-pair invariant mass in the Boosted category in the e-tau channel. The MC histograms have been normalized to the number of the expected events after the fit.
	Figure 33 pdf, png	Tau-pair invariant mass in the VBF category in the e-tau channel. The MC histograms have been normalized to the number of the expected events after the fit.
	Figure 34 pdf, png	Tau-pair invariant mass in the No b-Tag category in the e-tau channel. The MC histograms have been normalized to the number of the expected events after the fit.
	Figure 35 pdf, png	Tau-pair invariant mass in the b-Tag category in the e-tau channel. The MC histograms have been normalized to the number of the expected events after the fit.
	Figure 36 pdf, png	Expected limit on the SM cross section for the different decay channels.
	Figure 37 pdf, png	Observed limit on the SM cross section for the different decay channels.
	Figure 38 pdf, png	Comparison of the combined expected SM limit with limits computed after an inclusive selection, using only the 0/1-Jet and Boosted categories, or using only the 0/1-Jet and VBF categories.
	Figure 39 pdf, png	Comparison of the combined observed SM limit with limits computed after an inclusive selection, using only the 0/1-Jet and Boosted categories, or using only the 0/1-Jet and VBF categories.
	Figure 40 pdf, png	Event display for a b-Tag candidate event in the mu-tau channel.