Model-Independent Searches Using Matrix Element Ranking

Abstract

Thus far the LHC experiments have yet to discover beyond-the-standard-model physics. This motivates efforts to search for new physics in model independent ways. In this spirit, we describe procedures for using a variant of the Matrix Element Method to search for new physics without regard to a specific signal hypothesis. To make the resulting variables more intuitive, we also describe how these variables can be "flattened", which makes the resulting distributions more visually meaningful.