Publications

Order by: publication date number of citations

• Ephemeral Learning - Augmenting Triggers with Online-Trained Normalizing Flows

  Anja Butter, Sascha Diefenbacher, Gregor Kasieczka, Benjamin Nachman, Tilman Plehn, David Shih, Ramon Winterhalder

  SciPost Phys. 13, 087 (2022) · published 7 October 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The large data rates at the LHC require an online trigger system to select relevant collisions. Rather than compressing individual events, we propose to compress an entire data set at once. We use a normalizing flow as a deep generative model to learn the probability density of the data online. The events are then represented by the generative neural network and can be inspected offline for anomalies or used for other analysis purposes. We demonstrate our new approach for a toy model and a correlation-enhanced bump hunt.

  4 citations

• pyBumpHunter: A model independent bump hunting tool in Python for high energy physics analyses

  Louis Vaslin, Samuel Calvet, Vincent Barra, Julien Donini

  SciPost Phys. Codebases 15 (2023) · published 14 July 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The BumpHunter algorithm is widely used in the search for new particles in High Energy Physics analysis. This algorithm offers the advantage of evaluating the local and global p-values of a localized deviation in the observed data without making any hypothesis on the supposed signal. The increasing popularity of the Python programming language motivated the development of a new public implementation of this algorithm in Python, called pyBumpHunter, together with several improvements and additional features. It is the first public implementation of the BumpHunter algorithm to be added to Scikit-HEP. This paper presents in detail the BumpHunter algorithm as well as all the features proposed in this implementation. All these features have been tested in order to demonstrate their behaviour and performance.

  3 citations

• Tau-decay determination of the strong coupling

  Antonio Pich

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 1, 036 (2019) · published 21 February 2019 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We review the current status of the determination of the strong coupling from tau decay. Using the most recent release of the ALEPH data, a very comprehensive phenomenological analysis has been performed, exploring all strategies previously considered in the literature and several complementary approaches. Once their actual uncertainties are properly assessed, the results from all adopted methodologies are in excellent agreement, leading to a very robust and reliable value of the strong coupling, $\alpha_s^{(n_f=3)}(m_\tau^2) = 0.328\pm 0.013$, which implies $\alpha_s^{(n_f=5)}(M_Z^2) = 0.1197\pm 0.0015$.

  3 citations

• The search for the neutron electric dipole moment at PSI

  Guillaume Pignol, Philipp Schmidt-Wellenburg

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 5, 027 (2021) · published 6 September 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The existence of a nonzero permanent electric dipole moment (EDM) of the neutron would reveal a new source of CP violation and shed light on the origin of the matter--antimatter asymmetry of the Universe. The sensitivity of current experiments using stored ultracold neutrons (UCN) probes new physics beyond the TeV scale. Using the UCN source at the Paul Scherrer Institut, the nEDM collaboration has performed the most sensitive measurement of the neutron EDM to date, still compatible with zero ($|d_n|<1.8\times 10^{-26} \, e {\rm cm}$, C.L.90%). A new experiment designed to improve the sensitivity by an order of magnitude, n2EDM, is currently in construction.

  3 citations

• Real-time discrimination of photon pairs using machine learning at the LHC

  Sean Benson, Adrián Casais Vidal, Xabier Cid Vidal, Albert Puig Navarro

  SciPost Phys. 7, 062 (2019) · published 13 November 2019 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  ALP-mediated decays and other as-yet unobserved $B$ decays to di-photon final states are a challenge to select in hadron collider environments due to the large backgrounds that come directly from the $pp$ collision. We present the strategy implemented by the LHCb experiment in 2018 to efficiently select such photon pairs. A fast neural network topology, implemented in the LHCb real-time selection framework achieves high efficiency across a mass range of $4-20$ GeV$/c^{2}$. We discuss implications and future prospects for the LHCb experiment.

  3 citations

• Strength in numbers: Optimal and scalable combination of LHC new-physics searches

  Jack Y. Araz, Andy Buckley, Benjamin Fuks, Humberto Reyes-Gonzalez, Wolfgang Waltenberger, Sophie L. Williamson, Jamie Yellen

  SciPost Phys. 14, 077 (2023) · published 20 April 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  To gain a comprehensive view of what the LHC tells us about physics beyond the Standard Model (BSM), it is crucial that different BSM-sensitive analyses can be combined. But in general search-analyses are not statistically orthogonal, so performing comprehensive combinations requires knowledge of the extent to which the same events co-populate multiple analyses' signal regions. We present a novel, stochastic method to determine this degree of overlap, and a graph algorithm to efficiently find the combination of signal regions with no mutual overlap that optimises expected upper limits on BSM-model cross-sections. The gain in exclusion power relative to single-analysis limits is demonstrated with models with varying degrees of complexity, ranging from simplified models to a 19-dimensional supersymmetric model.

  3 citations

• BROOD: Bilevel and Robust Optimization and Outlier Detection for Efficient Tuning of High-Energy Physics Event Generators

  Wenjing Wang, Mohan Krishnamoorthy, Juliane Muller, Stephen Mrenna, Holger Schulz, Xiangyang Ju, Sven Leyffer, Zachary Marshall

  SciPost Phys. Core 5, 001 (2022) · published 17 January 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The parameters in Monte Carlo (MC) event generators are tuned on experimental measurements by evaluating the goodness of fit between the data and the MC predictions. The relative importance of each measurement is adjusted manually in an often time-consuming, iterative process to meet different experimental needs. In this work, we introduce several optimization formulations and algorithms with new decision criteria for streamlining and automating this process. These algorithms are designed for two formulations: bilevel optimization and robust optimization. Both formulations are applied to the datasets used in the ATLAS A14 tune and to the dedicated hadronization datasets generated by the Sherpa generator, respectively. The corresponding tuned generator parameters are compared using three metrics. We compare the quality of our automatic tunes to the published ATLAS A14 tune. Moreover, we analyze the impact of a pre-processing step that excludes data that cannot be described by the physics models used in the MC event generators.

  3 citations

• Future Physics Prospects with the CMS Detector at the High-Luminosity LHC

  Conor Henderson

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 8, 111 (2022) · published 13 July 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider is expected to deliver up to 3000 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collisions at 14 TeV center-of-mass energy. We present prospects for selected heavy-ion, Standard Model and Higgs sector measurements with the CMS detector at the HL-LHC, and discuss potential sensitivity to several beyond-Standard Model new physics scenarios.

  3 citations

• DELight: A Direct search Experiment for Light dark matter with superfluid helium

  Belina von Krosigk, Klaus Eitel, Christian Enss, Torben Ferber, Loredana Gastaldo, Felix Kahlhoefer, Sebastian Kempf, Markus Klute, Sebastian Lindemann, Marc Schumann, Francesco Toschi, Kathrin Valerius

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 12, 016 (2023) · published 3 July 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  To reach ultra-low detection thresholds necessary to probe unprecedentedly low Dark Matter masses, target material alternatives and novel detector designs are essential. One such target material is superfluid $^4$He which has the potential to probe so far uncharted light Dark Matter parameter space at sub-GeV masses. The new "Direct search Experiment for Light dark matter", DELight, will be using superfluid helium as active target, instrumented with magnetic micro-calorimeters. It is being designed to reach sensitivity to masses well below 100 MeV in Dark Matter-nucleus scattering interactions.

  3 citations

• Status of the Muon g-2 experiment at Fermilab

  A. Driutti for the Muon g-2 Collaboration

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 1, 033 (2019) · published 21 February 2019 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The aim of the Muon g − 2 Experiment at Fermilab (E989) is to measure the muon anomalous magnetic moment (aμ) with a relative precision of 140 parts- per-billion (ppb). This precision, which is a factor of four improvement from the current experimental result, will allow for a much more stringent test of the Standard Model. This paper present the current status of the experimental measurement of aμ after the first physics run.

  2 citations