Dawid, Richard (2014) 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
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Dawid, Richard richard.dawid@philosophy.su.se 0000-0002-1472-2958
Additional Information:	forthcoming in Philosophy of Science
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:	27 Jun 2014 15:11
Last Modified:	10 Feb 2017 15:43
Item ID:	10791
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Physics > Fields and Particles Specific Sciences > Probability/Statistics General Issues > Theory/Observation
Date:	June 2014
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/10791

Available Versions of this Item

• Higgs Discovery and the Look Elsewhere Effect. (deposited 04 Apr 2013 11:27)
  • Higgs Discovery and the Look Elsewhere Effect. (deposited 27 Jun 2014 15:11) [Currently Displayed]
  • Higgs Discovery and the Look Elsewhere Effect. (deposited 22 Apr 2013 19:05)

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