The Matrix Element Method at the LHC: status and prospects for Run II

Abstract

The Matrix Element Method (MEM) is a powerful multivariate method allowing to maximally exploit the experimental and theoretical information available to an analysis. Applications of the MEM at LHC experiments are discussed, such as searches for rare processes and measurements of properties of the Standard Model Higgs boson. The MadWeight software, allowing for a fast and automated computation of MEM weights for any user- specified process, is briefly reviewed. A new implementation of the MEM in the C++ language, MoMEMta, is presented. Building on MadWeight's tricks to accelerate the calculations, it aims at a much improved modularity and maintainability. Examples of this modularity are discussed: the possibility to compute several weights in parallel (propagation of systematic uncertainties), the Differential MEM (DMEM), and a novel way to search for lion-resonant. New Physics.