Search for the minimal standard model Higgs boson in e+e− collisions at LEP

A search for the minimal standard model Higgs boson (H0) has been performed with data from e+e− collisions in the OPAL detector at LEP. The analysis is based on approximately 8 pb−1 of data taken at centre-of-mass energies between 88.2 and 95.0 GeV. The search concentrated on the reaction e+e−→(e+e−, μ+μ−, vv or τ+τ−)H0, H0→(qq or τ+τ−) for Higgs boson masses above 25 GeV/c2. No Higgs boson candidates have been observed. The present study, combined with previous OPAL publications, excludes the existence of a standard model Higgs boson with mass in the range 3