Practical Statistics for Astronomers

Bringing together relevant statistical and probabilistic techniques, a practical manual for advanced undergraduate and graduate students and professional astronomers.

J. V. Wall (Author), C. R. Jenkins (Author)

9780521732499, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 26 April 2012

374 pages, 89 b/w illus. 26 tables 73 exercises
22.8 x 15.2 x 1.7 cm, 0.6 kg

"Bringing together the most relevant statistical and probabilistic techniques for use in observational astronomy, this handbook is a practical manual for advanced undergraduate and graduate students and professional astronomers." -Mathematical Reviews

Astronomy needs statistical methods to interpret data, but statistics is a many-faceted subject that is difficult for non-specialists to access. This handbook helps astronomers analyze the complex data and models of modern astronomy. This second edition has been revised to feature many more examples using Monte Carlo simulations, and now also includes Bayesian inference, Bayes factors and Markov chain Monte Carlo integration. Chapters cover basic probability, correlation analysis, hypothesis testing, Bayesian modelling, time series analysis, luminosity functions and clustering. Exercises at the end of each chapter guide readers through the techniques and tests necessary for most observational investigations. The data tables, solutions to problems, and other resources are available online at www.cambridge.org/9780521732499. Bringing together the most relevant statistical and probabilistic techniques for use in observational astronomy, this handbook is a practical manual for advanced undergraduate and graduate students and professional astronomers.

1. Decision
2. Probability
3. Statistics and expectations
4. Correlation and association
5. Hypothesis-testing
6. Data modelling and parameter-estimation: basics
7. Data modelling and parameter-estimation: advanced topics
8. Detection and surveys
9. Sequential data - 1D statistics
10. Statistics of large-scale structure
11. Epilogue: statistics and our Universe
Appendices
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Astronomy, space & time [PG], Probability & statistics [PBT], Mathematics & science [P]