MINIMAL SUPERSYMMETRIC STANDARD MODEL HIGGS RATES AND BACKGROUNDS IN ATLAS

This study presents an overview of the potential of the ATLAS detector at LHC for the observation of the Higgs boson of the minimal supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). The expected rates, backgrounds and significances are discussed channel by channel using realistic assumptions for the detector performance. As final results, the ranges of the MSSM parameter space projected on the (m A , tan β) and (m h , tan β) planes, for which the expected significances for the discovery of the different channels exceed a 5σ value, are shown for the ATLAS detector alone and for combined results from the ATLAS and CMS detectors. It is concluded that the combined potential of the two LHC detectors should fully cover the Higgs sector of the MSSM parameter space. The sensitivity of the results to the upper limit of the allowed mass for the lightest Higgs boson is extensively discussed. The direct impact of the SUSY particle sector on such searches is neglected in this paper.