Search for the Standard Model Higgs boson decaying to b-quark pairs with the ATLAS detector at the LHC

TL;DR

This paper reports on the ATLAS experiment's search for the Standard Model Higgs boson decaying into b-quark pairs, using 36.1 fb^{-1} of 13 TeV proton-proton collision data, to better understand its couplings to fermions.

Contribution

It presents the first results of the Higgs to b-quark pairs decay channel using specific production modes at the LHC with detailed analysis of the data.

Findings

No significant excess observed in the b-quark decay channel.

Constraints set on Higgs boson production in these channels.

Improved understanding of Higgs couplings to fermions.

Abstract

After many years of searches, the Higgs boson was observed by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations in July 2012. Since then, its properties have been measured using primarily the bosonic decay channels: $H \to \gamma\gamma $, $H \to Z Z$, $H \to W^+ W^-$. In order to probe the predictions of the Standard Model and the nature of the Higgs boson, it is also fundamental to measure its couplings to fermions and, in particular, to quarks. In this paper we present the ATLAS results in the search for the Higgs boson decaying to b-quark pairs using two different production channels: associated production with a vector boson and vector boson fusion with an additional hard photon, using 36.1 $\mathrm{fb^{-1}}$ the $pp$ collisions delivered by the LHC at a center of mass energy of 13 $\mathrm{TeV}$.