Next: Introduction
"Asymmetric errors"
Asymmetric Uncertainties:
Sources, Treatment and Potential Dangers
G. D'Agostini
Università ``La Sapienza'' and INFN, Roma, Italia
(giulio.dagostini@roma1.infn.it,
www.roma1.infn.it/~dagos)
Abstract:
The issue of asymmetric uncertainties resulting from
fits, nonlinear propagation and
systematic effects is
reviewed. It is shown that, in all cases,
whenever a published result is given with asymmetric uncertainties,
the value of the physical quantity of interest
is biased with respect to what would be obtained using at best
all experimental and theoretical information that contribute
to evaluate the combined uncertainty.
The probabilistic solution to the problem is provided
both in exact and in approximated forms.
Printable version of this paper, plus related papers
See author's web page on
probability and statistics.
Reference to this paper:
physics/0403086, March 2004.
Giulio D'Agostini
2004-04-27