Separating Signals from Non-Interfering Backgrounds using Probabilistic Event Weightings

TL;DR

This paper introduces a probabilistic method to assign quality factors to individual events, enabling better separation of signals from backgrounds in experimental physics without relying on traditional cuts.

Contribution

It presents a novel procedure for calculating event-by-event Q-factors that improve signal extraction when backgrounds cannot be separated by simple cuts.

Findings

Q-factors effectively distinguish signal from background.

Method enhances accuracy of true signal spectrum extraction.

Applicable to experiments with non-interfering backgrounds.

Abstract

A common situation in experimental physics is to have a signal which can not be separated from a non-interfering background through the use of any cut. In this paper, we describe a procedure for determining, on an event-by-event basis, a quality factor (Q-factor) that a given event originated from the signal distribution. This Q-factor can then be used as an event weight in subsequent analysis procedures, allowing one to more directly access the true spectrum of the signal.