TPC vertex error estimates and cut parameters

From: Michael Murray Tel 409 845 1411,FAX 1899, Home 823 3386 (MURRAY@cycomp.tamu.edu)
Date: Tue Sep 12 2000 - 12:10:02 EDT

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        Dear Bjorn,
                 I just read "Vertex-determination from TPM1". For the cluster
    algorithm I think that a better estimate of the uncertainty of the vertex
    is the error on the mean of the gaussian rather than the RMS.
    Imagine that you have 2 events with the same set of tracks. However
    the first event produces only 3 clusters per track while the second
    produces 10 clusters per track. Both events should have the same RMS of
    the vertex histogram but the second event will have many more events and
    so a much smaller uncertainty in the mean.
      For the tracking algorithm you use a cut of Chi**2<5. It seems to me
    that this cut should depend on the number of degrees of freedom in 
    your fit. I think it would be better to use the confidence level. This
    is a statistical measure of the likelyhood that a fit to a 
    distribution with gaussian errors and N degrees of freedom would have a given
    Chi**2. There was a CERNLIB routine in FORTRAN whose syntax was
    conf_level = PROB(Chi**2, N_Degrees_of_freedom)
    I'm sure this must exist in ROOT.
    
    If you have only good events in your sample a plot of confidence level
    should be flat. However "bad" events, eg where this is no vertex, will tend
    to have a larger Chi**2 and show up a a peak at low confidence level.
    You can then cut at confindence levels just above the peak. Another nice
    feature is that if you cut on confidence level .15 say then you know
    that you have lost 15% of your "true" events as well as the garbage. 
    It is important to know the efficencies of your cuts in order to costruct
    dN/dY etc.
                       Yours Michael  
    
    : 
    : Michael Murray murray@comp.tamu.edu
    : Cyclotron Institute, Texas A&M University, TX 77843-3366
    : Telephone (979) 845 1411, FAX 1899
    



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