Particle Physics in Birmingham

Particle Physics Seminar

Wednesday 7th December 2016 at 13:30
Poynting Small Lecture Theatre

(tea, coffee and biscuits served at 13:15)

Claims of Discoveries based on Sigmas

Giulio D'Agostini (Cambridge and Rome Universities)


Abstract

Frontier Physics is characterized by investigations at the limit of the detector sensitivity and by the fact that the phenomena searched for are usually ‘mimicked’ by other, less interesting ones (‘background’). In the impossibility of providing firm results, the claims of discovery are accompained by a certain number of sigma’s. Meaning and the misinterpretation related to the ``n-sigma’s’’ will be illustrated, also commenting on recent examples from Particle Physics.