The signal estimator limit setting method

A new technique is presented for determining confidence limits in searches with low statistics. Recognizing that the physicist wishes to set limits on the signal hypothesis, the technique defaults to a confidence limit on signal only when zero events are observed. In order to accomplish this, the method overcovers, but much less so than methods using conditioning techniques. As a result, this technique gives more powerful frequentist confidence limits than conditioning techniques while still avoiding some unpleasant features of classical confidence limits.