Search for the Standard Model Higgs Boson in the H -> WW -> lepton+neutrino+q'qbar Decay Channel

Abstract

We present a search for the standard model Higgs boson (H) in ppbar collisions at sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV in events containing a charged lepton (ell), missing transverse energy, and at least two jets, using 5.4 fb^-1 of integrated luminosity recorded with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. This analysis is sensitive primarily to Higgs bosons produced through the fusion of two gluons or two electroweak bosons, with subsequent decay H->WW->ell+nu+q'qbar, where ell is an electron or muon. The search is also sensitive to contributions from other production channels, such as WH->ell+nu+bbbar In the absence of signal, we set limits at the 95% C.L. on the cross section for H production sigma(ppbar->H+X) in these final states. For a mass of MH=160 GeV, the limit is a factor of 3.9 larger than the cross section in the standard model, and consistent with expectation.