Meson spectroscopy aims to study the masses and decay processes of mesons to better understand the mechanics of Quantum Chromo Dynamics in the strong coupling (non peturbative) regime. The Edinburgh group are spokespersons on a major new proposal at the Thomas Jefferson National Laboratory called MesonEx. This experiment will make use of the newly upgraded 12 GeV electron beam and detector systems to produce and measure the properties of mesons of interest for study. Edinburgh also leads the development of a fast timing Hodoscope, part of the new Forward Tagger detector system that will be essential to the success of this experiment. The primary focus of this thesis is the development process of the Foward Tagger Hodoscope, from its inception up to its installation at Jefferson Lab. The second part of the document will discuss the first measurement of the γp → ωππp decay channel, with data from the g11a run of the CLAS (CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer) in Hall B of Jefferson Lab. The analysis presents evidence for resonant contributions to the dataset decaying directly to ωππ, via b1(1235)π or via ωρ. These include a2(1320), π1(1600), ω3(1670) and π2(1670).

In this thesis we use techniques from white noise analysis to study solutions of semilinear stochastic differential equations in a Hilbert space H: {dX[subscript]t = (AX[subscript]t + F(t,X[subscript]t)) dt + ơ(t,X[subscript]t) δB[subscript]t, t∈ (0,T], X[subscript]0 = ξ, where A is a generator of either a C[subscript]0-semigroup or an n-times integrated semigroup, and B is a cylindrical Wiener process. We then consider applications to forward interest rate models, such as in the Heath-Jarrow-Morton framework. We also reformulate a phenomenological model of the forward rate. / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Mathematical Science, 2009

In this thesis we use techniques from white noise analysis to study solutions of semilinear stochastic differential equations in a Hilbert space H: {dX[subscript]t = (AX[subscript]t + F(t,X[subscript]t)) dt + ơ(t,X[subscript]t) δB[subscript]t, t∈ (0,T], X[subscript]0 = ξ, where A is a generator of either a C[subscript]0-semigroup or an n-times integrated semigroup, and B is a cylindrical Wiener process. We then consider applications to forward interest rate models, such as in the Heath-Jarrow-Morton framework. We also reformulate a phenomenological model of the forward rate. / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Mathematical Science, 2009

[pt] Na década de 1990, diversos países, inclusive o Brasil, entre 1996 e 2003, iniciaram a reestruturação de seus setores elétricos e criaram mercados livres para negociação de energia. O crescimento desses mercados tem demandado a adaptação de instrumentos financeiros de gestão de riscos e retornos as suas especificidades. No Brasil, o mercado tem, ainda, uma estrutura de balcão desorganizado e descentralizado, o que dificulta seu aprendizado. Os contratos a termo de energia elétrica, negociados bilateralmente, no país, são o principal instrumento para a mitigação de riscos e a avaliação de investimentos. Nesse contexto, o objetivo deste estudo é compreender melhor a dinâmica dos preços a termo de energia elétrica praticados no Brasil. Assim, é proposto um método para construção de curvas a termo com base apenas em informações de mercado e feita uma primeira aplicação dessa metodologia. Alguns indícios ficaram, então, evidentes sobre o comportamento do mercado brasileiro a termo de energia elétrica: configuração de contango em alguns períodos, presença de elevados prêmios de risco e aderência apenas relativa dos preços a termo às expectativas de futuros preços à vista. Estudos realizados a partir de mercados estruturados de energia elétrica suportam essas evidências. / [en] In the 1990s, several countries, including Brazil, between 1996 and 2003, began to restructure their electricity sectors and established free markets for energy trading. The growth of these markets has required the adaptation of financial instruments for risk management and return to their specifications. In Brazil, the market has still a disorganized and decentralized OTC (over the counter market) structure, which hinders their learning. The forward contracts for electricity, negotiated bilaterally, in the country, are the primary instrument to mitigate risks and evaluate investments. In this context, the objective of this study is to better understand the dynamics of the forward price of electricity negotiated in Brazil. Thus, we propose a method to construct the forward curve based only on market information and made a first application of this methodology. Some clues were then evident on the behavior of the Brazilian forward market of electricity: contango set in certain periods, presence of high risk premiums and only partial adherence of forward prices on the expectations of future spot prices. Studies based on structured electricity markets support these evidences.

[pt] O Setor Elétrico Brasileiro sofreu diversas mudanças regulatórias ao longo da década de 90, entretanto, após o racionamento de energia ocorrido entre 2001 e 2002 observou-se a necessidade de adoção de um arcabouço regulatório mais moderno e eficiente. Dentre as mudanças implementadas pelo novo modelo, destacamos a competição livre de preços para o setor de geração e o Ambiente de Comercialização Livre como as mais disruptivas. Essas mudanças, além de incentivar a modicidade tarifária, permitiu que os agentes do setor se protegessem de variações do preço da energia elétrica por meio de contratos futuros/a termo. Diferente dos mercados desenvolvidos que possuem um mecanismo formal de livre comercialização por meio de uma estrutura de bolsa centralizada, o Brasil ainda mantém um mercado informal através de uma estrutura de balcão descentralizado. Esse quadro resulta em uma falta de transparência nos preços, e que gera dificuldade na obtenção de dados e análise assertiva do comportamento do mercado futuro/a termo de energia elétrica brasileiro. O crescimento do mercado a termo brasileiro, em tamanho e importância, registrado nos últimos anos justifica a necessidade de aprofundamento das análises desse mercado. O objetivo deste trabalho é compreender o comportamento dos preços a termo em relação ao preço esperado à vista futuro a partir de uma metodologia de coleta de dados de mercado. O resultado do estudo aponta comportamento de contango para os contratos de 2017 com maturidade para 2018. O resultado é aderente a estudos realizados em mercados maduros para contratos com tempo de maturidade reduzido. / [en] The Brazilian Electricity Sector has undergone several regulatory changes throughout the 1990s, however, the energy rationing between 2001 and 2002, showed the need to adopt a more modern and efficient regulatory framework. Among the changes implemented by the new model, the free competition prices for the generation sector and a Free Trading Environment stands out as the most disruptives. These changes, as well as encourage tariff modicity, also allowed the players to hedge against changes in the electricity prices through futures/forward contracts. Unlike developed markets that have formal mechanism for free trading through a centralized stock exchange structure, Brazil still maintains an informal market through a decentralized counter structure, this situation results in a lack of transparency in the prices that generate difficulty in obtaining data and assertive analysis of the Brazilian futures/forward market behavior. The growth of the Brazilian forward market, in size and importance, recorded in recent years, justifies the need to deepen the analysis of this market. The objective of this paper is to understand the behavior of forward prices in relation to the expected future spot price based on market data collection methodology. The result of the study shows a contango behavior for the contracts of 2017 with maturity to 2018. The result is adherent to studies conducted in mature markets with reduced maturity time contracts.

Les systèmes de communication FSO sont des candidats potentiels pour de solutions de transmission spatiale à large bande. C’est pourquoi la présente thèse s’inscrit dans une contribution d’une nouvelle architecture de réseau FSO dans le cas d’une liaison de communication entre un satellite géostationnaire et une station terrienne. Elle traite aussi de l’influence de l’angle zénithal sur la qualité de la liaison optique en raison de la variation de la scintillation due à la complexité de l’atmosphère. Nous avons établi un nouveau canal de communication tenant compte de la subdivision de l’atmosphère en deux grandes zones de turbulence. Pour améliorer la performance de la liaison, nous avons d’abord placé un relais AF optiques ente le satellite et la station terrienne, ensuite nous avons introduit un paramètre construit `a partir de valeurs : p et 1-p. Le paramètre p correspond au ratio de la distance entre la station terrienne et le relais sur la distance de 36 000 Km correspondant a` l’orbite GEO. Dans notre cas, le relais est placé a 1000 Km a l’exosphère, le paramètre p = 1/36 et enfin la technique de diversité spatiale est appliquée en réception. Les résultats de simulation ont confirmé que les architectures des systèmes proposés sont meilleures que les performances de liaisons optiques directes. / Free space optical systems are potential candidates of large band spatial transmission solutions. In this thesis, FSO network architecture in the case of geo- stationary satellite to earth communication link is investigated and the influence of zenith angle on the quality of the link has been evaluated. Because of the variation of scintillation due to the complexity of the atmosphere, the optical space to earth communication link channel model has been developped. In order to overcome the main limitations of the prop- agation, optical relays with low earth orbit satellites and spatial diversity on earth could improve the link performance. To improve the link performance, an aggregated simulation model turbulence has been built based on parameters ”p” and ”1-p” introduced in the combined model a↵ecting the considered channels. The parameter ” p ” corresponds to the ratio of the distance from the earth to the relay over the total distance of 36 000Km. In the case of 1000 Km for a relay in the exosphere, p = 1/36. Simulation results show that the proposed network system architecture has outperformed the direct link performance

This study investigates the predictive performance of two different machine learning (ML) models on the stock market and compare the results. The chosen models are based on artificial neural networks (ANN) and random forests (RF). The models are trained on two separate data sets and the predictions are made on the next day closing price. The input vectors of the models consist of 6 different financial indicators which are based on the closing prices of the past 5, 10 and 20 days. The performance evaluation are done by analyzing and comparing such values as the root mean squared error (RMSE) and mean average percentage error (MAPE) for the test period. Specific behavior in subsets of the test period is also analyzed to evaluate consistency of the models. The results showed that the ANN model performed better than the RF model as it throughout the test period had lower errors compared to the actual prices and thus overall made more accurate predictions. / Denna studie undersöker hur väl två olika modeller inom maskininlärning (ML) kan förutspå aktiemarknaden och jämför sedan resultaten av dessa. De valda modellerna baseras på artificiella neurala nätverk (ANN) samt random forests (RF). Modellerna tränas upp med två separata datamängder och prognoserna sker på nästföljande dags stängningskurs. Indatan för modellerna består av 6 olika finansiella nyckeltal som är baserade på stängningskursen för de senaste 5, 10 och 20 dagarna. Prestandan utvärderas genom att analysera och jämföra värden som root mean squared error (RMSE) samt mean average percentage error (MAPE) för testperioden. Även specifika trender i delmängder av testperioden undersöks för att utvärdera följdriktigheten av modellerna. Resultaten visade att ANN-modellen presterade bättre än RF-modellen då den sett över hela testperioden visade mindre fel jämfört med de faktiska värdena och gjorde därmed mer träffsäkra prognoser.