Search for neutral MSSM Higgs bosons decaying to τ +τ - pairs in proton–proton collisions at √s = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Abstract

A search for neutral Higgs bosons decaying to pairs of τ leptons with the ATLAS detector at the LHC is presented. The analysis is based on proton–proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, recorded in 2010 and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36 pb^-1. After signal selection, 276 events are observed in this data sample. The observed number of events is consistent with the total expected background of 269 ± 36 events. Exclusion limits at the 95% confidence level are derived for the production cross section of a generic Higgs boson φ as a function of the Higgs boson mass and for A/H /h production in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) as a function of the parameters m_A and tan β.