Search for the Higgs boson in the $H \to$ WW(*) $\to \ell_\nu\ell_\nu$ decay channel in $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV with the ATLAS detector

Abstract

A search for the Higgs boson has been performed in the H->WW->lvlv channel (l=e/mu) with an integrated luminosity of 2.05/fb of pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. No significant excess of events over the expected background is observed and limits on the Higgs boson production cross section are derived for a Higgs boson mass in the range 110<mH<300 GeV. The observations exclude the presence of a Standard Model Higgs boson with a mass 145<mH<206 GeV at 95% confidence level.