Search for the standard model Higgs boson produced in association with a Z Boson in 7.9 fb(-1) of p anti-p collisions at s √ =1.96 TeV.

Abstract

WepresentasearchforthestandardmodelHiggsbosonproducedinassociationwithaZboson, usingupto7.9fb?1ofintegratedluminosityfromppcollisionscollectedwiththeCDFIIdetector. Weutilizeseveralnoveltechniques,includingmultivariateleptonselection,multivariatetrigger parametrization,andamulti-stagesignaldiscriminantconsistingofspecializedfunctionstrainedto distinguishindividualbackgrounds.Byincreasingacceptanceandenhancingsignaldiscrimination, thesetechniqueshavesignicantlyimprovedthesensitivityoftheanalysisabovewhatwasexpected fromalargerdatasetalone.Weobservenosignicantevidenceforasignal,andwesetlimitson theZHproductioncrosssection.ForaHiggsbosonwithmass115GeV/c2,weexpect(observe)a limitof3.9(4.8)timesthestandardmodelpredictedvalue,atthe95%credibilitylevel.