A combined search for the Standard Model Higgs boson with the ATLAS detector at the LHC is presented. The data sets used correspond to integrated luminosities from $4.6{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$ to $4.9{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$ of proton-proton collisions collected at $\sqrt{s}=7\mathrm{TeV}$ in 2011. The Higgs boson mass ranges of 111.4 GeV to 116.6 GeV, 119.4 GeV to 122.1 GeV, and 129.2 GeV to 541 GeV are excluded at the 95% confidence level, while the range 120 GeV to 560 GeV is expected to be excluded in the absence of a signal. An excess of events is observed at Higgs boson mass hypotheses around 126 GeV with a local significance of 2.9 standard deviations ($\sigma$). The global probability for the background to produce an excess at least as significant anywhere in the entire explored Higgs boson mass range of 110–600 GeV is estimated to be $\sim 15\%$, corresponding to a significance of approximately $1\sigma$.

• Received 2 July 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.86.032003

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© 2012 CERN, for the ATLAS Collaboration