SEARCH FIVE SIGMA

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    Explorable

    Build your own discovery

    Collect simulated collision data, switch a hidden particle on or off, and watch how local significance, chance bumps and the look-elsewhere effect behave.

    HIDDEN PARTICLE AT 125 GeV
    4.0 units

    One unit is about 1,000 background events across 100–160 GeV.

    EVENTS3977
    LOCAL SIGNIFICANCE AT 125 GeV2.4σ
    LARGEST BUMP ANYWHERE2.5σ at 122.5 GeV
    EXPECTED AT 125 GeV4.1σ
    window 125 ± 4 GeVexpected background050100150200EVENTS PER GeV100110120130140150160MASS (GeV)3σ5σ discovery convention0σ3σ5σ7σLOCAL SIGNIFICANCE100110120130140150160MASS TESTED (GeV)

    The physics, the assumptions behind this tool and the sources are explained in What “five sigma” really means — and what it doesn’t.

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