Extraction of Top Backgrounds in the Higgs Boson Search with the $H\to WW^\ast \to \ell\ell + E_{\rm T}^{\rm miss}$ Decay with a Full-Jet Veto at the LHC

Abstract

The search for a Standard Model Higgs boson with the $H\to WW^\ast\to \ell\ell + E_{\rm T}^{\rm miss}$ decay and the application of a full-jet veto yields a strong sensitivity in the mass range $130<m_H<200$ GeV. One of the residual backgrounds is related to processes involving top quarks. A method for the extraction of top backgrounds is evaluated at the parton and hadronic levels based on the data-driven extraction of the jet veto survival probability. The uncertainty of the proposed method is about 15%.