Search for Invisibly Decaying Higgs Bosons with Large Decay Width Using the OPAL Detector at LEP

Abstract

This paper describes a topological search for an invisibly decaying Higgs boson,H, produced via the Bjorken process (e+e- -> HZ). The analysis is based on data recorded using the OPAL detector at LEP at centre-of-mass energies from 183 to 209 GeV corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 629pb-1. In the analysis only hadronic decays of the Z boson are considered. A scan over Higgs boson masses from 1 to 120 GeV and decay widths from 1 to 3000 GeV revealed no indication for a signal in the data. From a likelihood ratio of expected signal and Standard Model background we determine upper limits on cross-section times branching ratio to an invisible final state. For moderate Higgs boson decay widths, these range from about 0.07pb Mh = 60GeV) to 0.57pb (Mh = 114GeV). For decay widths above 200GeV the upper limits are of the order of 0.15pb. The results can be interpreted in general scenarios predicting a large invisible decay width of the Higgs boson. As an example we interpret the results in the so-called stealthy Higgs scenario. The limits from this analysis exclude a large part of the parameter range of this scenario experimentally accessible at LEP2.