Higgs Discovery on the Brink, but Is It the Higgs? & What Is the Deal with H → WW?

Abstract

Once we have the data from the first 2012 run in our hands, we will already have enough data to say that the new particle looks like a Higgs boson. We may even be able to make some preliminary statements about any deviations from the standard model. These will improve in time. There will always be those who say that we don’t really know for sure that this is the Higgs boson rather than some other scalar neutral particle that happened to be around, but the fact is that this particle turned up just about where the Higgs boson was most expected and with the right properties. With respect the WW channel, it is now several standard deviations below the standard model and is more consistent with no branching to WW. Even taking into account that these combinations are unofficial and approximate there is clearly something odd here. From a theoretical point of view this is very perplexing because the digamma decay is in theory dominated by loops involving the W boson. If the direct decay to WW is lower than predicted then the diphoton decay should be too. This really cannot be made sense of and if it is correct then the Higgs nature of the observed resonance would have to be questioned, but let’s not be too hasty.