Practical Statistics for Particle Physicists

TL;DR

This paper introduces statistical methods for high energy physics, covering frequentist and Bayesian inference, hypothesis testing, and techniques used in Large Hadron Collider data analysis.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of statistical concepts and modern techniques specifically tailored for particle physics research.

Findings

Detailed explanation of frequentist and Bayesian approaches

Overview of hypothesis testing and significance evaluation

Discussion of advanced data analysis techniques at LHC

Abstract

These three lectures provide an introduction to the main concepts of statistical data analysis useful for precision measurements and searches for new signals in High Energy Physics. The frequentist and Bayesian approaches to probability theory are introduced and, for both approaches, inference methods are presented. Hypothesis tests will be discussed, then significance and upper limit evaluation will be presented with an overview of the modern and most advanced techniques adopted for data analysis at the Large Hadron Collider.