Extraction of Top Backgrounds in the Higgs Boson Search with the $H\to WW^\ast \to \ell\ell + E_{\rm T}^{\rm miss}$ Decay with a Full-Jet Veto at the LHC

TL;DR

This paper presents a data-driven method to extract top quark backgrounds in Higgs boson searches at the LHC, improving background estimation accuracy for the $H o WW^ o ext{leptons} + E_T^{miss}$ decay channel.

Contribution

A novel approach for estimating top backgrounds using jet veto survival probabilities at both parton and hadronic levels.

Findings

Uncertainty of the background extraction method is approximately 15%.

Method is effective at both parton and hadronic levels.

Enhances the sensitivity of Higgs searches in the specified mass range.

Abstract

The search for a Standard Model Higgs boson with the $H\to WW^\ast\to \ell\ell + E_{\rm T}^{\rm miss}$ decay and the application of a full-jet veto yields a strong sensitivity in the mass range $130<m_H<200$ GeV. One of the residual backgrounds is related to processes involving top quarks. A method for the extraction of top backgrounds is evaluated at the parton and hadronic levels based on the data-driven extraction of the jet veto survival probability. The uncertainty of the proposed method is about 15%.