CERN Accelerating science

The $p$-value for the background-only hypothesis as a function of the Higgs boson mass hypothesis for both the observed data (obs.) and pseudo-data constructed using the median expectation for the standard model Higgs boson after the signal-plus-background fit to the data (exp.). To help visualize the results, smooth lines connect the points at which the probabilities are evaluated. The \htt analysis results are broken down into a contribution from V\htt categories, which share the production process with the V\hbb analysis, and another contribution with all other \htt event categories. For every mass hypothesis tested, the non-fermionic decay contributions are taken to be those of the standard model Higgs boson with a mass of 125\GeV. Non-fermionic decays are considered as part of the background and consequently do not contribute to the measurement.

Scan of the profile likelihood as a function of the signal strength relative to the expectation for the production and decay of a standard model Higgs boson, $\mu$, for $\mh=125\GeV$. The statistical significance against the background-only ($\mu=0$) hypothesis is shown for the two channels and their combination. By definition, the expectation for the standard model Higgs boson with a mass of 125\GeV is $\mu=1$. The non-fermionic decay contributions expected for the standard model Higgs boson with a mass of 125\GeV are considered as part of the background and therefore not scaled with $\mu$.