MULTIPLE SOLUTIONS IN EXTRACTING PHYSICS INFORMATION FROM EXPERIMENTAL DATA

Abstract

Multiple solutions exist in many experimental situations where several interfering amplitudes are summed to fit experimentally measured distributions, such as cross sections, mass spectra, and/or angular distributions. We show a few examples where multiple solutions are found, but only one solution is reported in publications. Since there is no standard rule for choosing one among the solutions as the physics one, we propose a simple rule that agrees with what has been adopted in previous literature: the solution corresponding to the minimal magnitudes of the amplitudes must be the physical solution. We suggest testing this rule in future analyses.