Search for a Higgs Boson Decaying to Weak Boson Pairs at LEP

TL;DR

This paper reports a search for a Higgs boson decaying into weak boson pairs using LEP data, setting mass limits and combining results with photon decay searches.

Contribution

It presents new limits on Higgs decays into weak bosons and combines these with photon decay results to constrain Higgs properties.

Findings

Higgs boson decayed only into electroweak bosons is excluded below 107 GeV

Limits on Higgs decay branching fractions are established as a function of mass

Combined analysis improves constraints on Higgs decay channels

Abstract

A Higgs particle produced in association with a Z boson and decaying into weak boson pairs is searched for in 336.4 1/pb of data collected by the L3 experiment at LEP at centre-of-mass energies from 200 to 209 GeV. Limits on the branching fraction of the Higgs boson decay into two weak bosons as a function of the Higgs mass are derived. These results are combined with the L3 search for a Higgs boson decaying to photon pairs. A Higgs produced with a Standard Model e+e- --> Zh cross section and decaying only into electroweak boson pairs is excluded at 95% CL for a mass below 107 GeV.