Statistical Aspects of X-ray Spectral Analysis

Johannes Buchner; Peter Boorman

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arXiv · 2309.05705

Statistical Aspects of X-ray Spectral Analysis

Johannes Buchner·Peter Boorman

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Abstract

This handbook chapter gives a modern introduction to spectral analysis of celestial X-ray sources. Concepts presented include the instrumentation response, the linear modelling approximation, Poisson count statistics and the Gaussian approximation, data re-binning, visualisation techniques, handling backgrounds, Bayesian and frequentist viewpoints, uncertainty quantification of model parameters, model checking, model comparison, and inferring population distributions. Realistic hands-on example exercises with accompanying data files and code are included to apply the theoretical concepts in practice.

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Johannes Buchner, Peter Boorman. 2023-09-11. Statistical Aspects of X-ray Spectral Analysis. https://arxiv.org/abs/2309.05705

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