sFit: a method for background subtraction in maximum likelihood fit

2009/05/06 by Yuehong Xie, Xie, Yuehong · 4 citations
Computer Science · Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Data Analysis #FOS: Physical sciences #Image and Signal Denoising Methods #Scientific Research and Discoveries #Statistics and Probability (physics.data-an) #Structural Health Monitoring Techniques

paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.0905.0724

openalex publication_date 2009/05/06 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

This paper presents a statistical method to subtract background in maximum likelihood fit, without relying on any separate sideband or simulation for background modeling. The method, called sFit, is an extension to the sPlot technique originally developed to reconstruct true distribution for each date component. The sWeights defined for the sPlot technique allow to construct a modified likelihood function using only the signal probability density function and events in the signal region. Contribution of background events in the signal region to the likelihood function cancels out on a statistical basis. Maximizing this likelihood function leads to unbiased estimates of the fit parameters in the signal probability density function.

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