Z-Decays to b Quarks and the Higgs Boson Mass

Abstract

A model independent analysis of the most recent averages of precision electroweak data from LEP and SLD finds a 3$\sigma$ deviation of the parameter $A_b$ from the Standard Model prediction. The fitted value of $m_H$ shows a strong dependence on the inclusion or exclusion of b quark data, and the Standard Model fits have poor confidence levels of a few percent when the latter are included. The good fits obtained to lepton data, c quark data and the directly measured top quark mass, give $m_t=171.2_{-3.8}^{+3.7}$ GeV and indicate that the Higgs boson mass is most likely less than 200 GeV.

15 pages, 3 figures, 6 tables

References in corpus (5)

• Improved Determination of $\alpha (M_{\mathrm{Z}}^2$) and the Anomalous Magnetic Moment of the Muon
• Improved Determination of alpha_QED(M_Z^2) and the Anomalous Magnetic Moment of the Muon
• Indications for an Anomalous Right-Handed Coupling of the b-Quark from a Model Independent Analysis of LEP and SLD Data on Z-Decays
• Combining real and virtual Higgs boson mass constraints
• Are there anomalous Z fermion couplings ?

Cited by in corpus (5)

• Electroweak Data and the Higgs Boson Mass: A Case for New Physics
• Fitting Precision Electroweak Data with Exotic Heavy Quarks
• The Indirect Limit on the Standard Model Higgs Boson Mass from the Precision FERMILAB, LEP and SLD Data
• The Experimental Status of the Standard Electroweak Model at the End of the LEP-SLC Era
• Implications of LEP/SLD Data for New Physics in Zbb_bar Couplings