Reference priors for high energy physics

Luc Demortier, Supriya Jain, and Harrison B. Prosper
Phys. Rev. D 82, 034002 – Published 3 August 2010

Abstract

Bayesian inferences in high energy physics often use uniform prior distributions for parameters about which little or no information is available before data are collected. The resulting posterior distributions are therefore sensitive to the choice of parametrization for the problem and may even be improper if this choice is not carefully considered. Here we describe an extensively tested methodology, known as reference analysis, which allows one to construct parametrization-invariant priors that embody the notion of minimal informativeness in a mathematically well-defined sense. We apply this methodology to general cross section measurements and show that it yields sensible results. A recent measurement of the single-top quark cross section illustrates the relevant techniques in a realistic situation.

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  • Received 4 February 2010

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.82.034002

©2010 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Luc Demortier

  • Laboratory of Experimental High Energy Physics, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10065, USA

Supriya Jain*

  • Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma 73019, USA

Harrison B. Prosper

  • Department of Physics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306, USA

  • *Present address: State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA.

Comments & Replies

Comment on “Reference priors for high energy physics”

Dieter Grientschnig and Ignacio Lira
Phys. Rev. D 84, 118501 (2011)

Reply to “Comment on ‘Reference priors for high energy physics’ ”

Luc Demortier, Supriya Jain, and Harrison B. Prosper
Phys. Rev. D 84, 118502 (2011)

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Vol. 82, Iss. 3 — 1 August 2010

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