Higgs boson production via double Pomeron exchange at the LHC

We study Higgs boson production via double Pomeron exchange allowing for the presence of Pomeron remnants. We estimate the number of events produced at the LHC collider, as a function of the Higgs boson mass and its decay channel. The model which successfully describes the high mass dijet spectrum observed at Tevatron run I is used to predict rates of events with tagged protons at the LHC. Sizeable cross-sections and encouraging event selection signals are found, demonstrating especially for smaller Higgs boson masses the importance to study the diffractive channels. Tagging of the Pomeron remnants can be exploited to achieve a good resolution on the Higgs mass for inclusive diffractive events, by optimizing an analysis between higher cross-sections of the inclusive mode (all Pomeron remnants) and cleaner signals of the exclusive mode (without Pomeron remnants). (C) 2002 Elsevier Science All rights reserved.