Search for Wbb̄ and W H production in pp̄ collisions at √s = 1.96 TeV

We present a search for Wbb̄ production in pp̄ collisions at √s = 1.96 TeV in events containing one electron, an imbalance in transverse momentum, and two b-tagged jets. Using 174 pb-1 of integrated luminosity accumulated by the D0 experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron collider, and the standard-model description of such events, we set a 95% C.L. upper limit on Wbb̄ production of 6.6 pb for b quarks with transverse momenta pTb > 20 GeV and bb̄ separation in pseudorapidity-azimuth space δRbb > 0.75. Restricting the search to optimized bb̄ mass intervals provides upper limits on WH production of 9.0-12.2 pb for Higgs-boson masses of 105-135 GeV. © 2005 The American Physical Society.