Abstract:

The Higgs field is theorized to give mass to particles within the Standard Model. The quanta of this field, the Higgs boson, is the only Standard Model fundamental particle not discovered so far. There are indications from indirect measurements and exclusion limits from LEP and Tevatron that the Higgs is light, in the low hundred GeV range. If that is the case, the most promising channel at the Tevatron is the production of the Higgs boson together with a vector boson, W or Z. Large backgrounds and low Standard Model cross section makes this a very daunting task. A very similar final state, albeit with slightly higher cross section, is the vector boson pair production. The observation of this latter process in a hadronic mode is the first step towards a Higgs discovery. In this talk I will briefly review the current status of Higgs searches at the Tevatron and I will present the first observation of vector boson pairs in a hadronic mode at CDF.