Search for the neutral Higgs bosons of the Standard Model and the MSSM in e(+)e(-) collisions at root s=189 GeV

Neutral Higgs bosons of the Standard Model and of the MSSM are searched for in the data collected at a centre-of-mass energy of 188.6GeV by the ALEPH experiment at LEP, with an integrated luminosity of 176 pb(-1). No evidence for a signal is found. A lower limit of 92.9GeV/c(2) at 95% confidence level is set on the mass of the Standard Model Higgs boson, with an expected sensitivity of 95.9 GeV/c(2). In the MSSM, for tan beta greater than or equal to 0.7 and for benchmark parameter choices, observed (expected) lower limits of 82.5 (83.1) GeV/c(2) and 82.6 (83.2) GeV/c(2) are derived for the masses of the neutral Higgs bosons h and A, respectively. An update of the general MSSM parameter scan is also presented. RI ANTONELLI, ANTONELLA/C-6238-2011; Jones, Roger/H-5578-2011; Passalacqua, Luca/F-5127-2011; Murtas, Fabrizio/B-5729-2012; O'Shea, Val/G-1279-2010; Ferrante, Isidoro/F-1017-2012