Multidimensional Deconvolution with Profiling

In many experimental contexts, it is necessary to statistically remove the impact of instrumental effects in order to physically interpret measurements. This task has been extensively studied in particle physics, where the deconvolution task is called unfolding. A number of recent methods have shown how to perform high-dimensional, unbinned unfolding using machine learning. However, one of the assumptions in all of these methods is that the detector response is accurately modeled in the Monte Carlo simulation. In practice, the detector response depends on a number of nuisance parameters that can be constrained with data. We propose a new algorithm called Profile OmniFold (POF), which works in a similar iterative manner as the OmniFold (OF) algorithm while being able to simultaneously profile the nuisance parameters. We illustrate the method with a Gaussian example as a proof of concept highlighting its promising capabilities.

Moment Unfolding

Deconvolving ("unfolding'') detector distortions is a critical step in the comparison of cross section measurements with theoretical predictions in particle and nuclear physics. However, most existing approaches require histogram binning while many theoretical predictions are at the level of statistical moments. We develop a new approach to directly unfold distribution moments as a function of another observable without having to first discretize the data. Our Moment Unfolding technique uses machine learning and is inspired by Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs). We demonstrate the performance of this approach using jet substructure measurements in collider physics. With this illustrative example, we find that our Moment Unfolding protocol is more precise than bin-based approaches and is as or more precise than completely unbinned methods.

Parkinsons Disease Detection via Resting-State Electroencephalography Using Signal Processing and Machine Learning Techniques

Parkinsons Disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder resulting in motor deficits due to advancing degeneration of dopaminergic neurons. PD patients report experiencing tremor, rigidity, visual impairment, bradykinesia, and several cognitive deficits. Although Electroencephalography (EEG) indicates abnormalities in PD patients, one major challenge is the lack of a consistent, accurate, and systemic biomarker for PD in order to closely monitor the disease with therapeutic treatments and medication. In this study, we collected Electroencephalographic data from 15 PD patients and 16 Healthy Controls (HC). We first preprocessed every EEG signal using several techniques and extracted relevant features using many feature extraction algorithms. Afterwards, we applied several machine learning algorithms to classify PD versus HC. We found the most significant metrics to be achieved by the Random Forest ensemble learning approach, with an accuracy, precision, recall, F1 score, and AUC of 97.5%, 100%, 95%, 0.967, and 0.975, respectively. The results of this study show promise for exposing PD abnormalities using EEG during clinical diagnosis, and automating this process using signal processing techniques and ML algorithms to evaluate the difference between healthy individuals and PD patients.