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Probability and Statistics in Experimental Physics

  • Textbook
  • © 2001

Overview

Authors:
  1. Byron P. Roe

    1. Department of Physics, Randall Laboratory, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA

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Part of the book series: Undergraduate Texts in Contemporary Physics (UTCP)

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Table of contents (18 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xi
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  2. Basic Probability Concepts

    • Byron P. Roe
    Pages 1-4

  3. Some Initial Definitions

    • Byron P. Roe
    Pages 5-14

  4. Some Results Independent of Specific Distributions

    • Byron P. Roe
    Pages 15-28

  5. Discrete Distributions and Combinatorials

    • Byron P. Roe
    Pages 29-34

  6. Specific Discrete Distributions

    • Byron P. Roe
    Pages 35-43

  7. The Normal (or Gaussian) Distribution and Other Continuous Distributions

    • Byron P. Roe
    Pages 44-57

  8. Generating Functions and Characteristic Functions

    • Byron P. Roe
    Pages 58-65

  9. The Monte Carlo Method: Computer Simulation of Experiments

    • Byron P. Roe
    Pages 66-80

  10. Queueing Theory and Other Probability Questions

    • Byron P. Roe
    Pages 81-91

  11. Two-Dimensional and Multidimensional Distributions

    • Byron P. Roe
    Pages 92-106

  12. The Central Limit Theorem

    • Byron P. Roe
    Pages 107-118

  13. Inverse Probability; Confidence Limits

    • Byron P. Roe
    Pages 119-145

  14. Methods for Estimating Parameters. Least Squares and Maximum Likelihood

    • Byron P. Roe
    Pages 146-169

  15. Curve Fitting

    • Byron P. Roe
    Pages 170-200

  16. Bartlett S Function; Estimating Likelihood Ratios Needed for an Experiment

    • Byron P. Roe
    Pages 201-212

  17. Interpolating Functions and Unfolding Problems

    • Byron P. Roe
    Pages 213-220

  18. Fitting Data with Correlations and Constraints

    • Byron P. Roe
    Pages 221-230

  19. Beyond Maximum Likelihood and Least Squares; Robust Methods

    • Byron P. Roe
    Pages 231-241

  20. Back Matter

    Pages 243-252
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Keywords

About this book

Intended for advanced undergraduates and graduate students, this book is a practical guide to the use of probability and statistics in experimental physics. The emphasis is on applications and understanding, on theorems and techniques actually used in research. The text is not a comprehensive text in probability and statistics; proofs are sometimes omitted if they do not contribute to intuition in understanding the theorem. The problems, some with worked solutions, introduce the student to the use of computers; occasional reference is made to routines available in the CERN library, but other systems, such as Maple, can also be used. Topics covered include: basic concepts; definitions; some simple results independent of specific distributions; discrete distributions; the normal and other continuous distributions; generating and characteristic functions; the Monte Carlo method and computer simulations; multi-dimensional distributions; the central limit theorem; inverse probability and confidence belts; estimation methods; curve fitting and likelihood ratios; interpolating functions; fitting data with constraints; robust estimation methods. This second edition introduces a new method for dealing with small samples, such as may arise in search experiments, when the data are of low probability. It also includes a new chapter on queuing problems (including a simple, but useful buffer length example). In addition new sections discuss over- and under-coverage using confidence belts, the extended maximum-likelihood method, the use of confidence belts for discrete distributions, estimation of correlation coefficients, and the effective variance method for fitting y = f(x) when both x and y have measurement errors.

Reviews

From the reviews of the second edition:

"This book is the second edition … of a practical introduction into probability and statistics in experimental physics. The book is primarily written for undergraduate and graduate students and contains a new chapter on queueing theory and an additional discussion of the Feldman-Cousins unified method for estimating confidence intervals." (Ulrich Horst, Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 1011, 2003)

"The book under review is rather unconventional in many respects, in particular concerning the choice of covered topics and the style of presentation. … Its main goal is to provide the reader with techniques actually used in experimental research. They are illustrated by a series of worked problems. … some material is included that one hardly finds in other books of this kind, like elements of queuing theory … . many experimental physicists would appreciate probably to have a copy of this book within hand-reach." (F. Binon, Physicalia, Vol. 38 (5), 2002)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Department of Physics, Randall Laboratory, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA

    Byron P. Roe

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