Search for a light standard model Higgs boson in the ${\rm H \rightarrow \rm W \rm W^{({*})}\rightarrow e^+ \nu e^- \bar{\nu}}$ channel

A prospective analysis for the discovery of a light standard model Higgs boson in the CMS experiment at the large hadron collider is presented. The analysis focuses on the inclusive single production p + p → H + X and the Higgs boson decay channel \rm H \rightarrow W W^{{(*)}} \rightarrow e^+ \nu e^- \bar{\nu} , for a Higgs boson mass MH in the range 120 < MH < 160GeV/c2. A full simulation of the detector response is performed and detailed electron, jet and missing transverse energy reconstruction algorithms are used. Emphasis is put on a realistic treatment of background contamination and systematics. A Higgs boson of mass MH ≳ 134GeV/c2 would be observed with a significance above three standard deviations in the \rm e^+ \nu e^- \bar{\nu} channel alone for an integrated LHC luminosity above 30 fb-1