Measurements of properties of the Higgs boson decaying to a W boson pair in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV

TL;DR

This paper reports the first observation of the Higgs boson decaying into W boson pairs using 13 TeV proton-proton collision data from the CMS detector, measuring the production cross section and confirming the standard model prediction.

Contribution

It presents the first CMS observation of Higgs to WW decay at 13 TeV, with detailed measurements of production modes and cross section consistent with the standard model.

Findings

Observed cross section times branching fraction: 1.28^{+0.18}_{-0.17} times SM prediction

First CMS observation of Higgs to WW decay at 13 TeV

Results agree with standard model expectations

Abstract

Measurements of the production of the standard model Higgs boson decaying to a W boson pair are reported. The W$^+$W$^-$ candidates are selected in events with an oppositely charged lepton pair, large missing transverse momentum, and various numbers of jets. To select Higgs bosons produced via vector boson fusion and associated production with a W or Z boson, events with two jets or three or four leptons are also selected. The event sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$, collected in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV by the CMS detector at the LHC during 2016. Combining all channels, the observed cross section times branching fraction is 1.28 $^{+0.18}_{-0.17}$ times the standard model prediction for the Higgs boson with a mass of 125.09 GeV. This is the first observation of the Higgs boson decay to W boson pairs by the CMS experiment.