A Quantitative Measure of Experimental Scientific Merit

TL;DR

This paper introduces a quantitative framework for assessing the scientific merit of experimental research, which can challenge conventional wisdom and guide future research directions in physics.

Contribution

It proposes a new explicit quantitative measure of scientific merit for experimental programs, applicable across physical sciences.

Findings

The framework can produce results that contradict accepted wisdom.

It has potential to inform future research decisions.

Applicable to various subfields of physical sciences.

Abstract

Experimental program review in our field may benefit from a more quantitative framework within which to quantitatively discuss the scientific merit of a proposed program of research, and to assess the scientific merit of a particular experimental result. This article proposes explicitly such a quantitative framework. Examples of the use of this framework in assessing the scientific merit of particular avenues of research at the energy frontier in many cases provide results in stark contradiction to accepted wisdom. The experimental scientific figure of merit proposed here has the potential for informing future choices of research direction in our field, and in other subfields of the physical sciences.