Optimum measurement and analysis of small polarization asymmetry in high-energy inelastic scattering using a polarized target

Optimum linear filter theory is employed for maximizing the signal-to- noise ratio in measurements of small polarization asymmetry in the presence of severe counting efficiency fluctuation, most likely to occur in high-energy inclusive and inelastic scattering experiments, using a polarized target. The r.m.s. error of the polarization asymmetry is obtained in closed form, allowing numeric optimization of the operation of the target. Guidelines are given for processing the record of data. (7 refs).