Using Random Forests to Classify W+W- and ttbar Events

Abstract

We have carried out an exercise in the classification of W+W- and ttbar events as produced in a high-energy proton-proton collider, motivated in part by the current tension between the measured and predicted values of the WW cross section. The performance of the random forest classifier surpasses that of a standard cut-based analysis. Furthermore, the distortion of the distributions of key kinematic event features is relatively slight, suggesting that systematic uncertainties due to modeling might be reduced. Finally, our random forest can tolerate missing features such as missing transverse energy without a severe degradation of its performance.