Search for a light standard model Higgs boson in the H→WW ^(*)→e⁺νe^-ν̄ channel

A prospective analysis for the discovery of a light standard model Higgs boson in the CMS experiment at the large hadron collider is presented. The analysis focuses on the inclusive single production p + p→H + X and the Higgs boson decay channel H→WW^(*)→e ⁺νe^-ν̄, for a Higgs boson mass M_H in the range 120 < M_H < 160GeV/c². A full simulation of the detector response is performed and detailed electron, jet and missing transverse energy reconstruction algorithms are used. Emphasis is put on a realistic treatment of background contamination and systematics. A Higgs boson of mass M_H ≳ 134GeV/c² would be observed with a significance above three standard deviations in the e⁺νe ^-ν̄ channel alone for an integrated LHC luminosity above 30 fb^-1.