2002/08/05 by P. Sinervo, Pekka K. Sinervo, Sinervo, Pekka K.
Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #High Energy Physics - Experiment (hep-ex) #High-Energy Particle Collisions Research #Particle physics theoretical and experimental studies #Statistical Mechanics and Entropy #hep-ex
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.hep-ex/0208005
To be published in the proceedings of the conference "Advanced Statistical Techniques in Particle Physics", Durham, England (18-22 Mar 2002)
arxiv created 2002/08/05 · openalex publication_date 2002/08/05 · arxiv updated 2009/11/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The concept of the "statistical significance" of an observation, and how it is used in particle physics experiments is reviewed. More properly known as a "p-value," the statistical foundations for this concept are reviewed from a freqentist perspective. The discovery of the top quark at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider and a more recent analysis of data recorded at Fermilab are used to illustrate practical applications of these concepts.