Search for the Standard Model Higgs Boson in the Decay Channel H -> ZZ -> 4l in pp Collisions at root s=7 TeV

A search for a Higgs boson in the four-lepton decay channel H -> ZZ, with each Z boson decaying to an electron or muon pair, is reported. The search covers Higgs boson mass hypotheses in the range of 110 < m(H) < 600 GeV. The analysis uses data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.7 fb(-1) recorded by the CMS detector in pp collisions at root s = 7 TeV from the LHC. Seventy-two events are observed with four-lepton invariant mass m(4l) > 100 GeV (with 13 below 160 GeV), while 67.1 +/- 6.0 (9.5 +/- 1.3) events are expected from background. The four-lepton mass distribution is consistent with the expectation of standard model background production of ZZ pairs. Upper limits at 95% confidence level exclude the standard model Higgs boson in the ranges of 134-158 GeV, 180-305 GeV, and 340-465 GeV. Small excesses of events are observed around masses of 119, 126, and 320 GeV, making the observed limits weaker than expected in the absence of a signal. RI Savrin, Victor/D-6213-2012; Petrushanko, Sergey/D-6880-2012; Lokhtin, Igor/D-7004-2012; Kodolova, Olga/D-7158-2012; Dudko, Lev/D-7127-2012; Perfilov, Maxim/E-1064-2012; Belyaev, Andrey/E-1540-2012; Katkov, Igor/E-2627-2012; Boos, Eduard/D-9748-2012; Snigirev, Alexander/D-8912-2012; Tomei, Thiago/E-7091-2012; Focardi, Ettore/E-7376-2012; Raidal, Martti/F-4436-2012; Novaes, Sergio/D-3532-2012; Padula, Sandra /G-3560-2012; Lujan Center, LANL/G-4896-2012; Tinoco Mendes, Andre David/D-4314-2011; Flix, Josep/G-5414-2012; Fruhwirth, Rudolf/H-2529-2012; Chen, Jie/H-6210-2011; Torassa, Ezio/I-1788-2012