Related papers: Statistical Issues in Searches for New Physics
In this work, we address the question of how to enhance signal-agnostic searches by leveraging multiple testing strategies. Specifically, we consider hypothesis tests relying on machine learning, where model selection can introduce a bias…
In many hypothesis testing applications, we have mixed priors, with well-motivated informative priors for some parameters but not for others. The Bayesian methodology uses the Bayes factor and is helpful for the informative priors, as it…
A review of the recent achievements in high energy neutrino physics and, partly, neutrino astrophysics is presented. It is argued that experiments with high energy neutrinos of natural origin can be used for a search of new physics effects…
Data analysis in science, e.g., high-energy particle physics, is often subject to an intractable likelihood if the observables and observations span a high-dimensional input space. Typically the problem is solved by reducing the…
The nature of a physical law is examined, and it is suggested that there may not be any fundamental dynamical laws. This explains the intrinsic indeterminism of quantum theory. The probabilities for transition from a given initial state to…
As experiments continue to push the quantum-classical boundary using increasingly complex dynamical systems, the interpretation of experimental data becomes more and more challenging: when the observations are noisy, indirect, and limited,…
The search for physics beyond the Standard Model motivates new high-energy accelerators, which will require high luminosities in order to produce interesting new heavy particles. Using the Higgs boson and supersymmetry as examples, we…
This is a review of Lee Smolin's "The Trouble with Physics". The main gist of the review is that the physics of the past three decades has been rich with new discoveries in a large number of domains. The Standard Model, while providing a…
The Bayesian Block algorithm, originally developed for applications in astronomy, can be used to improve the binning of histograms in high energy physics. The visual improvement can be dramatic, as shown here with two simple examples. More…
The possibility that spacetime is extended beyond the familiar 3+1-dimensions has intrigued physicists for a century. Indeed, the consequences of a dimensionally richer spacetime would be profound. Recently, new theories with higher…
The discovery of cosmic acceleration has stimulated theorists to consider dark energy or modifications to Einstein's General Relativity as possible explanations. The last decade has seen advances in theories that go beyond smooth dark…
This paper summarizes a presentation for a panel discussion on "The Future of Astrostatistics" held at the Statistical Challenges in Modern Astronomy V conference at Pennsylvania State University in June 2011. I argue that the emerging…
Hay esbozos seg\'un los cuales las probabilidades se cuentan como la fundaci\'on de la teor\'i a matem\'atica de las estad\'isticas. Mas la significaci\'on f\'isica de las probabilidades matem\'aticas son oscuros, muy poco entendidos.…
Despite the undeniable success of the Standard Model of particle physics (SM) there are some phenomena (neutrino oscillations, baryon asymmetry of the Universe, dark matter, etc.) that SM cannot explain. These phenomena indicate that the SM…
A highly effective approach to the search for hypothetical new interactions through isotope shift spectroscopy of hydrogen-like ions is presented. A weighted difference of the g factor and ground-state energy is shown to assist in the…
Several experiments in high-energy physics and astrophysics can be treated as on/off measurements, where an observation potentially containing a new source or effect ("on" measurement) is contrasted with a background-only observation free…
The idea that the search efficiency can be increased with the help of a number of autonomous agents is often relevant in many situations, which is known among biologists and roboticists as a stigmergy. This is due to the fact that, in any…
This note discusses the matter of probing Beyond the Standard Model physics and how, to succeed in this quest, the interpretations of the Standard Model regarding observed phenomena must be utilized with caution. We give several specific…
If all new particles are too heavy to be directly produced in the future Colliders, then the long sought New Physics (NP) could only appear in the form of new interactions, beyond those of the Standard Model (SM). Many of the processes that…
The advent of large data-set in cosmology has meant that in the past 10 or 20 years our knowledge and understanding of the Universe has changed not only quantitatively but also, and most importantly, qualitatively. Cosmologists rely on data…