Flavour independent search for neutral Higgs bosons at LEP

Abstract

A flavour independent search for the CP-even and CP-odd neutral Higgs bosons h and A is performed in 624 pb⁻¹ of data collected with the L3 detector at LEP at centre-of-mass energies between 189 and 209 GeV. Higgs boson production through the e+e− → Zh and the e+e− → hA processes is considered and decays of the Higgs bosons into hadrons are studied. No significant signal is observed and 95% confidence level limits on the hZZ and hAZ couplings are derived as a function of the Higgs boson masses. Assuming the Standard Model cross section for the Higgs-strahlung process and a 100% branching fraction into hadrons, a 95% confidence level lower limit on the mass of the Higgs boson is set at 110.3 GeV.