Prospects for the Discovery of the Standard Model Higgs Boson Using the $H \to \gamma \gamma$ Decay

The discovery potential for the Standard Model Higgs boson through the H to gamma gamma decay in the ATLAS detector is reported. Various performance aspects of the Higgs boson mass reconstruction and the photon identification are discussed. Trigger issues are also considered. The potential of an inclusive $H \to \gamma \gamma$ search and Higgs boson searches in association with one or two high pT jets are evaluated. Studies of the associated $W H, ZH$ and $t\bar{t}H$ production processes are also presented. Finally, the discovery potential is assessed using an unbinned multivariate maximum-likelihood fit. These studies are performed for experimental conditions expected for an instantaneous luminosity of $≈ 10^{33} \textrm{cm}^{−2} \textrm{s}^{−1}$.