Minutes of HTF on 28-Jun-2000
(ALEPH Week)
-- taken by Peter Mcnamara

1. Steve Armstrong -
Steve presented the first BEHOLD limit results for the standard
model Higgs searches for this year's data taking.  The current
implementation of BEHOLD contains 4 jet, Hnn, and Hll channels,
and divides the Y2K luminosity into 8 energy bins.  The implementation
of these channels allows the creation of both mass plots and limits.
With 76 pb^-1, there are 40.9 events expected, and 41 observed.
There is no sign of a mass peak in the mass distribution.  Combining
this year's data with 1998-1999 data, we expect to set a limit at
111.1 GeV/c^2 (median) with 109.6 GeV/c^2 observed.  The unluckiness
seems to come primarily from a single 4 jet candidate which has a
very high NN output value, and a high mass.  This result will be shown
at the LEP Higgs group meeting on Monday, July 3, along with results
on the MSSM, if they can be produced in time to be shown to ALEPH
beforehand.

2. Pete McNamara -
Pete showed the performance of the LEP version of the ALEPH inputs
for this year's data.  Both the expected and observed limits agree
with the BEHOLD results to within 100 MeV.  The observed curve from
the LEP inputs has a spiky structure which is not present in the
BEHOLD result, which Pete suggested might be due to the coarse binning
of the LEP inputs.  Pete also presented a comparison of the coarse
binning used in BEHOLD to a finer energy binning proposed in a previous
meeting.  This study suggests that the differences between these two
methods are negligible-- the results were again within 100 MeV.

3. Andre Tilquin -
Andre showed the latest results of the fermiophobic Higgs search.
The data and monte carlo seem to agree well at the preselection level.
In this year's data, 1.4 events are expected, and 1 event is observed.
This leads to a fermiophobic limit of 101.8 GeV/c^2, which will become
progressively harder to improve because of the rapidly increasing
Higgs to WW branching ratio.  This result will be shown at the LEP
Higgs group meeting.

4. Jean-Michel Pascolo -
Jean-Michel presented the status of the flavor independent and
Higgs to charm analyses.  These analyses use the four jet cut
preselection, which shows a deficit at the pre-selection level.
In these analyses, this deficit becomes quite significant at
the final selection level.  It was felt that some additional study
of the deficit was needed, but the interest of the theoretical
community in flavor independent searches was noted.  It was hoped
that some understanding of the deficit could be reached in the
near future, possibly in time for Osaka.

5. Bernard Fabbro -
Bernard showed the latest charged Higgs results, and continued
the discussion from the specialized e_12 meeting.  The central
issues revolve around estimating the size of the two photon background.
In favor of imposing the e_12 cut is the argument that the high p_t
two photon background may not be well simulated, and would not be
expected to be similar to low p_t two photon background.  In favor
of not imposing the e_12 cut is the concern that the LCAL may have
more cracks or dead regions in the data than in the monte carlo, and
that the analysis is not optimized for the inclusion of an e_12 cut.
It was decided that Paul should put the e_12 cut back in the tntn
analysis for now.  In the future, a new e_12 variable which includes
the scintilator information can be used, and the selection can be
reoptimized taking the cut into consideration.  These results will
be shown at the LEP Higgs group meeting.

AOB--
The ZZ cross section, presented in the W meeting, was again found
to be 1-2 sigma low.  No systematic suspect has been identified.
Statistics are believed to be the prime culprit, and they are
currently under investigation.

Marumi hopes to have an invisible Higgs result soon, but it is not
ready, yet.  If the result can be ready by friday, he will show it
at the thursday meeting, along with any other Higgs results which
want to be shown to the LEP Higgs group, but were not ready by this
meeting.