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arXiv · 2001.05001

Simulation Assisted Likelihood-free Anomaly Detection

Anders Andreassen·Benjamin Nachman·David Shih
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Abstract

Given the lack of evidence for new particle discoveries at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), it is critical to broaden the search program. A variety of model-independent searches have been proposed, adding sensitivity to unexpected signals. There are generally two types of such searches: those that rely heavily on simulations and those that are entirely based on (unlabeled) data. This paper introduces a hybrid method that makes the best of both approaches. For potential signals that are resonant in one known feature, this new method first learns a parameterized reweighting function to morph a given simulation to match the data in sidebands. This function is then interpolated into the signal region and then the reweighted background-only simulation can be used for supervised learning as well as for background estimation. The background estimation from the reweighted simulation allows for non-trivial correlations between features used for classification and the resonant feature. A dijet search with jet substructure is used to illustrate the new method. Future applications of Simulation Assisted Likelihood-free Anomaly Detection (SALAD) include a variety of final states and potential combinations with other model-independent approaches.

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BibTeXRIS

Anders Andreassen, Benjamin Nachman, David Shih. 2020-01-14. Simulation Assisted Likelihood-free Anomaly Detection. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.101.095004

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