Measurements of Higgs boson production by gluon-gluon fusion and vector-boson fusion using $H\rightarrow W W^* \rightarrow e\nu \mu\nu$ decays in $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV with the ATLAS detector

TL;DR

This paper reports precise measurements of Higgs boson production via gluon-gluon fusion and vector-boson fusion at 13 TeV using the ATLAS detector, confirming consistency with Standard Model predictions.

Contribution

First measurement of Higgs production cross sections in the $H ightarrow W W^*$ channel at 13 TeV with detailed fiducial region analysis.

Findings

Measured cross sections agree with Standard Model predictions.

Provided detailed differential cross section measurements.

Enhanced understanding of Higgs production mechanisms.

Abstract

Higgs boson production via gluon-gluon fusion and vector-boson fusion in proton-proton collisions is measured in the $H\rightarrow W W^* \rightarrow e\nu \mu\nu$ decay channel. The Large Hadron Collider delivered proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV between 2015 and 2018, which were recorded by the ATLAS detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$. The total cross sections for Higgs boson production by gluon-gluon fusion and vector-boson fusion times the $H\rightarrow W W^*$ branching ratio are measured to be $12.0\pm1.4$ and $0.75\;^{+0.19}_{-0.16}$ pb, respectively, in agreement with the Standard Model predictions of $10.4\pm 0.6$ and $0.81\pm 0.02$ pb. Higgs boson production is further characterized through measurements of Simplified Template Cross Sections in a total of 11 kinematic fiducial regions.