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The four LEP collaborations, ALEPH, DELPHI, L3 and OPAL,
have collected 2465 pb-
1 of
e+e-
collision data at energies between 189 and
209GeV, of which 542 pb-1
were collected above 206GeV.
Searches for the Standard Model Higgs boson have been performed by each of
the LEP collaborations. Their data have been
combined and examined for their consistency with the
Standard Model background and various Standard Model Higgs boson mass
hypotheses. A lower bound of 114.1GeV has been
obtained at the 95% confidence level for the mass of the
Higgs boson. The likelihood analysis shows a preference for a Higgs boson
with a mass of 115.6GeV. At this mass, the
probability for the background to generate the observed effect is
3.4%. The results quoted in this paper are combinations of preliminary
results from three collaborations and final
results from one collaboration.
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