H→WW as the discovery mode for a light Higgs boson

The production cross section for a m(H) approximate to 115 GeV, SM Higgs boson in weak boson fusion at the LHC is sizable. However, the branching fraction for H --> W+ W- is expected to be relatively small. The signal, with its two forward jets, is sufficiently different from the main backgrounds that a signal to background ratio of better than 1 : 1 can nevertheless be obtained, with large enough rate to allow for a 5 sigma signal with 35 fb(-1) of data. The H --> WW signal in weak boson fusion may thus prove to be the discovery mode for the Higgs boson at the LHC. (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.