Comparison of gaussian and t-distribution densities for modeling fluorescence dispersion in flow cytometric DNA histograms

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Abstract
In this paper, we have analyzed, on an experimental basis, the behaviour of the standardized t-distribution with three degrees of freedom versus the gaussian model, when employed for describing the fluorescence dispersion effect in flow cytometric DNA measurements. The comparison has been performed by employing two different objective criteria based on a computer analysis for fitting DNA histograms and on a parameter related to the peak distribution shape. The results indicate that, when the peak variance is not particularly small, the two models are substantially equivalent. In the case of experimental data with very sharp peaks, the t-distribution performs better than the gaussian density.