SciPost logo

Statistical patterns of theory uncertainties

Aishik Ghosh, Benjamin Nachman, Tilman Plehn, Lily Shire, Tim M. P. Tait, Daniel Whiteson

SciPost Phys. Core 6, 045 (2023) · published 20 June 2023

Abstract

A comprehensive uncertainty estimation is vital for the precision program of the LHC. While experimental uncertainties are often described by stochastic processes and well-defined nuisance parameters, theoretical uncertainties lack such a description. We study uncertainty estimates for cross-section predictions based on scale variations across a large set of processes. We find patterns similar to a stochastic origin, with accurate uncertainties for processes mediated by the strong force, but a systematic underestimate for electroweak processes. We propose an improved scheme, based on the scale variation of reference processes, which reduces outliers in the mapping from leading order to next-to-leading-order in perturbation theory.

Cited by 3

Crossref Cited-by

Ontology / Topics

See full Ontology or Topics database.

Statistics perturbation theory

Authors / Affiliations: mappings to Contributors and Organizations

See all Organizations.
Funders for the research work leading to this publication