Statistical inference on the h-index with an application to   top-scientist performance
  Despite the huge amount of literature on h-index, few papers have been devoted to the statistical analysis of h-index when a probabilistic distribution is assumed for citation counts. The present contribution relies on showing the available inferential techniques, by providing the details for proper point and set estimation of the theoretical h-index. Moreover, some issues on simultaneous inference - aimed to produce suitable scholar comparisons - are carried out. Finally, the analysis of the citation dataset for the Nobel Laureates (in the last five years) and for the Fields medallists (from 2002 onward) is proposed. 
Alberto Baccini, Lucio Barabesi, Marzia Marcheselli, Luca Pratelli
stat.AP cs.DL physics.soc-ph