Combined search for the standard model Higgs boson decaying to $b\bar{b}$ using the D0 run II data set

Abstract

We present the results of the combination of searches for the standard model Higgs boson produced in association with a $W$ or $Z$ boson and decaying into $b\bar{b}$ using the data sample collected with the D0 detector in $p\bar{p}$ collisions at $\sqrt s =\text{1.96 TeV}$ at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. We derive 95% C.L. upper limits on the Higgs boson cross section relative to the standard model prediction in the mass range $\text{100 GeV}\leq M_H \leq\text{150 GeV}$, and we exclude Higgs bosons with masses smaller than 102 GeV at the 95% C.L. In the mass range $\text{120 GeV}\leq M_H \leq\text{145 GeV}$, the data exhibit an excess above the background prediction with a global significance of 1.5 standard deviations, consistent with the expectation in the presence of a standard model Higgs boson.