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Higgs Discovery and the Look Elsewhere Effect

Dawid, Richard (2013) Higgs Discovery and the Look Elsewhere Effect. [Preprint]

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    Abstract

    The discovery of the Higgs particle required a signal of five sigma significance. The rigid application of that condition is a convention that disregards more specific aspects of the given experiment. In particular, it does not account for the characteristics of the look elsewhere effect in the individual experimental context. The paper relates this aspect of data analysis to the question as to what extent theoretical reasoning should be admitted to play a role in the assessment of the significance of empirical data.

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    Item Type: Preprint
    Additional Information: Some minor corrections were made
    Keywords: Higgs particle discovery condition Bayesianism 5 sigma limit collider physics
    Subjects: Specific Sciences > Physics > Fields and Particles
    Specific Sciences > Probability/Statistics
    General Issues > Theory/Observation
    Depositing User: Dr. Richard Dawid
    Date Deposited: 22 Apr 2013 15:05
    Last Modified: 22 Apr 2013 15:05
    Item ID: 9697
    URI: http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/9697

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