Enhancing Precision of Signal Correction in PVES Experiments: The Impact of Bayesian Analysis on the Results of the QWeak and MOLLER Experiments

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how Bayesian analysis improves the precision of parity-violating asymmetry measurements in PVES experiments, notably reducing uncertainties in QWeak and MOLLER data analysis.

Contribution

It introduces a Bayesian framework for signal correction in PVES experiments, enhancing the accuracy of asymmetry measurements beyond traditional methods.

Findings

Bayesian reanalysis reduced uncertainties by 40% in QWeak.

The method improved fit to measured asymmetries in simulated MOLLER data.

Predicted similar effectiveness for the P2 experiment.

Abstract

The precise measurement of parity-violating asymmetries in parity-violating electron scattering experiments is a powerful tool for probing new physics beyond the Standard Model. Achieving the expected precision requires both experimental and post-processing signal corrections. This includes using auxiliary detectors to distinguish the main signal from background signals and implementing post-measurement corrections, such as the Bayesian statistics method, to address uncontrolled factors during the experiments. Asymmetry values in the scattering of electrons off proton targets in QWeak and P2 and off electron targets in MOLLER are influenced by detector array configurations, beam polarization angles, and beam spin variations. The Bayesian framework refines full probabilistic models to account for all necessary factors, thereby extracting asymmetry values and the underlying physics under specified conditions. For the QWeak experiment, a reanalysis of the inelastic asymmetry measurement using the Bayesian method has yielded a closer fit to measured asymmetries, with uncertainties reduced by 40\% compared to the Monte Carlo minimization method. This approach was successfully applied to simulated data for the MOLLER experiment and is predicted to be similarly effective in P2.