An inclusive search for the standard model Higgs boson using the four-lepton final state in proton-antiproton collisions produced by the Tevatron at $\sqrt{s}=1.96\mathrm{TeV}$ is conducted. The data are recorded by the CDF II detector and correspond to an integrated luminosity of $9.7{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$. Three distinct Higgs decay modes, namely $ZZ$, $WW$, and $\tau \tau$, are simultaneously probed. Nine potential signal events are selected and found to be consistent with the background expectation. We set a 95% credibility limit on the production cross section times the branching ratio and subsequent decay to the four-lepton final state for hypothetical Higgs boson masses between $120\mathrm{GeV}/c^2$ and $300\mathrm{GeV}/c^2$.

• Received 22 July 2012
• Publisher error corrected 2 November 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.86.072012