https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/201612001006
Bayesian model comparison for one-dimensional azimuthal correlations in 200GeV AuAu collisions
1 Department of Physics, Stellenbosch University, 7600 Stellenbosch, South Africa
2 National Institute for Theoretical Physics (NITheP), 7600 Stellenbosch, South Africa
3 CENPA 354290, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
Published online: 4 July 2016
In the context of data modeling and comparisons between different fit models, Bayesian analysis calls that model best which has the largest evidence, the prior-weighted integral over model parameters of the likelihood function. Evidence calculations automatically take into account both the usual chi-squared measure and an Occam factor which quantifies the price for adding extra parameters. Applying Bayesian analysis to projections onto azimuth of 2D angular correlations from 200 GeV AuAu collisions, we consider typical model choices including Fourier series and a Gaussian plus combinations of individual cosine components. We find that models including a Gaussian component are consistently preferred over pure Fourier-series parametrizations, sometimes strongly so. For 0–5% central collisions the Gaussian-plus-dipole model performs better than Fourier Series models or any other combination of Gaussian-plus-multipoles.
© Owned by the authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2016
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
