Related papers: Wilks's Theorem, Global Fits, and Neutrino Oscilla…
A critical challenge in particle physics is combining results from diverse experimental setups that measure the same physical quantity to enhance precision and statistical power, a process known as a global fit. Global fits of sterile…
Particle physics experiments use likelihood ratio tests extensively to compare hypotheses and to construct confidence intervals. Often, the null distribution of the likelihood ratio test statistic is approximated by a $\chi^2$ distribution,…
For many small-signal particle physics analyses, Wilks' theorem, a simplifying assumption that presumes log-likelihood asymptotic normality, does not hold. The most common alternative approach applied in particle physics is a highly…
We present a new criterion for the goodness of global fits. It involves an exploration of the variation of \chi^2 for subsets of data.
Neutrinos, being elusive subatomic particles having only weak interactions, provide an ideal platform to look for physics beyond the Standard Model. In the present era of neutrino physics, various experiments are focusing towards the…
In analyzing neutrino oscillation experiments it is often assumed that while new physics contributes to neutrino masses, neutrino interactions are given by the Standard Model. We develop a formalism to study new physics effects in neutrino…
Global analyses of particle physics data are integral for validating and scrutinizing published results of experiments. Global fits of anomalous oscillation data which search for one or more eV-scale sterile neutrinos are particularly…
A considerable experimental effort is currently under way to test the persistent hints for oscillations due to an eV-scale sterile neutrino in the data of various reactor neutrino experiments. The assessment of the statistical significance…
We study the oscillations of neutrinos in a model in which the neutrino is coupled to a localized, idealized source and detector. By varying the spatial and temporal resolution of the source and detector we are able to model the full range…
We propose a new and rather stringent criterion for testing the goodness of fit between a theory and experiment. It is motivated by the paradox that the criterion on \chi^2 for testing a theory is much weaker than the criterion for finding…
We perform a global fit to neutrino oscillation and coherent neutrino-nucleus scattering data, using both timing and energy information from the COHERENT experiment. The results are used to set model-independent bounds on four-fermion…
In the next decade several experiments will attempt to determine the neutrino mass hierarchy, i.e. the sign of $\Delta m_{31}^2$. In the last years it was noticed that the two hierarchies are disjoint hypotheses and, for this reason, Wilks'…
Determining the type of the neutrino mass ordering (normal versus inverted) is one of the most important open questions in neutrino physics. In this paper we clarify the statistical interpretation of sensitivity calculations for this…
Wilk's theorem, which offers universal chi-squared approximations for likelihood ratio tests, is widely used in many scientific hypothesis testing problems. For modern datasets with increasing dimension, researchers have found that the…
Neutrino oscillations are precision probes of new physics beyond the Standard Model. Apart from neutrino masses and mixings, they are also sensitive to possible deviations of low-energy interactions between quarks and leptons from the…
When fitting theory to data in the presence of background uncertainties, the question of whether the spectral shape of the background happens to be similar to that of the theoretical model of physical interest has not generally been…
The likelihood ratio test (LRT) is widely used for comparing the relative fit of nested latent variable models. Following Wilks' theorem, the LRT is conducted by comparing the LRT statistic with its asymptotic distribution under the…
In this work, we review the history and current role of global fits in the search for physics beyond the Standard Model~(BSM), including precision tests of the Standard Model (SM). Although BSM global fits were initially focused on minimal…
We present a global fit of neutral-current elastic (NCE) neutrino-scattering data and parity-violating electron-scattering (PVES) data with the goal of determining the strange quark contribution to the vector and axial form factors of the…
We analyze how neutrino oscillation and coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering data impact the global SMEFT fit. We first review the mapping between the SMEFT parameters and the so-called NSI framework, commonly considered in the…