Branching Fraction Measurements of the SM Higgs with a Mass of 160 GeV at Future Linear e+e− Colliders

Assuming an integrated luminosity of 500 fb−1 and a center-of-mass energy of 350 GeV, we examine the prospects for measuring branching fractions of a Standard Model-like Higgs boson with a mass of 160 GeV at the future linear e+e−collider TESLA when the Higgs boson is produced via the Higgsstrahlung mechanism, e+e− → HZ. The Higgs boson mass chosen close to the W pair threshold covers a mass regime with complicated background structures. We study in detail including some detector responds the precisions achievable for the branching fractions of the Higgs boson into WW(*), ZZ* and $$b{\bar b}$$, whereas the measurement of BF(H → γ γ) remains a great challenge. Expectations for the total Higgs width are discussed using either the BF(Z → ZZ*) measurement of this study and the expected error for the inclusive Higgsstrahlung cross section or in addition the precise cross section expected for the weak boson fusion process, e+e− → v$${\bar v}$$ H, or W,Z-universality.