19–23 May 2025
CERN
Europe/Zurich timezone

Mass-unspecific classifiers for mass-dependent searches

Not scheduled
20m
61/1-201 - Pas perdus - Not a meeting room - (CERN)

61/1-201 - Pas perdus - Not a meeting room -

CERN

10
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Poster 2 ML for analysis: Event classification, statistical analysis and inference, anomaly detection Poster Session

Speaker

Sergio Rodríguez Benítez (Instituto de Física Teórica IFT-UAM/CSIC)

Description

Searches for new particles often span a wide mass range, where both signal and SM background shapes vary significantly. We introduce a multivariate method that fully exploits the correlation between signal and background features and the explored mass scale. The classifiers—either a neural network or boosted decision tree—produce continuous outputs across the full mass range, achieving performance similar to classifiers trained for the specific mass.

The key advantages arise from two factors:

  1. The background mass scale is correlated with the actual background shape, enabling more effective background identification across all mass scales.

  2. A balanced training sample that spans the entire mass range, allowing the classifier to learn the differences between high and low scales.

We benchmark this approach with single production of a vector-like quark singlet T at the HL-LHC, where the cross section depends on both the mixing angle and the quark mass. Our method is effective for mass-unspecific searches, applicable to a wide range of new physics processes and collider settings. Mass-unspecific classifiers show strong performance, especially in searches spanning a broad mass range.

Would you like to be considered for an oral presentation? Yes

Authors

Juan Antonio Aguilar Saavedra (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (ES)) Sergio Rodríguez Benítez (Instituto de Física Teórica IFT-UAM/CSIC)

Presentation materials