  We present alphaPDE, a new multivariate analysis technique for parameter
estimation. The method is based on a direct construction of joint probability
densities of known variables and the parameters to be estimated. We show how
posterior densities and best-value estimates are then obtained for the
parameters of interest by a straightforward manipulation of these densities.
The method is essentially non-parametric and allows for an intuitive graphical
interpretation. We illustrate the method by outlining how it can be used to
estimate the mass of the top quark, and we explain how the method is applied to
an ensemble of events containing background.
