Method for identifying H→ττ→e±μ±peT at the CERN LHC

Weak boson fusion promises to be a copious source of intermediate mass Higgs bosons at the CERN LHC. The additional very energetic forward jets in these events provide for powerful background suppression tools. We analyze the subsequent H→ττ→e±μ±peT decay for Higgs boson masses in the 100-150 GeV range. A parton level analysis of the dominant backgrounds demonstrates that this channel allows the observation of H→ττ in a low-background environment, yielding a significant Higgs boson signal with an integrated luminosity of order 60 fb-1 or less, over most of the mass range. We also restate a no-lose theorem for observation of at least one of the CP-even neutral Higgs bosons in the MSSM, which requires an integrated luminosity of only 40 fb-1. (c) 2000 The American Physical Society