New Results on Hard Probes in Heavy-Ion Collisions with ALICE

Hard probes - final state particles related to an interaction with large momentum transfer or mass scale - play a distinguished role in the discovery and the study of the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP), a phase of deconfined quarks and gluons reached at high temperatures in heavy ion collisions. In heavy ion collisions, parton scatterings with a large momentum transfer ($1/Q \ll 1$ fm/$c$) occur prior to QGP formation and thus provide a source of coloured probe particles for the QGP created in the later stage of the reaction. The hard scattered partons and the subsequent parton shower interact strongly with the QGP and its constituents via elastic and radiative processes before hadronization into jets of observable particles. Thus, the comparison to jet and high-$p_T$ observables in pp (vacuum) potentially probes their modification due to medium effects. One of the key observables in the discovery and investigation of these jet modifications has been the nuclear modification factor $R_{AA}$, for which new results on charged particle production in different colliding systems are presented and the question of apparant suppression in peripheral Pb-Pb collisions is addressed. Fore more differential studies of the jet sub-structure and hence the parton shower evolution in the medium, recent results on jet grooming in heavy ion colisions are presented.Comment: Dedicated to Oliver Busch (1976-2018), 6 pages, 4 figures, proceedings of the Sixth Annual Conference on Large Hadron Collider Physics LHCP 2018, Bologn

Geometrical Scaling of Direct-Photon Production in Hadron Collisions from RHIC to the LHC

We consider pp, dAu and AuAu production of photons at RHIC energies, and PbPb collisions at LHC energy. We show that the inclusive spectrum of photons in the transverse momentum range of 1 GeV < pT <= 4 GeV satisfies geometric scaling. Geometric scaling is a property of hadronic interactions predicted by theories of gluon saturation, and expresses rates in terms of dimensionless ratios of the transverse momentum to saturation momentum. We show excellent agreement with geometric scaling with the only input being the previously measured dependence of the saturation momentum upon Bjorken x and centrality.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure

Technical Analysis as a Method of Risk Management

While the academic world is still discussing if charting works or if it is more or less something like "Voodoo finance", the practical orientated world has been using technical analysis for decades. One argument of practitioners is, that technical analysis is useful to "disciplinate" the trader and consequently is a method of risk reduction. We discuss this argument theoretically and empirically and show, that it is not always right. --

Effects of the IFRS introduction: perspective from an early stadium to the time after the mandatory adoption

Regulators' expectations to the IFRS introduction are high. In our analyses we measure by different variables for market liquidity how inter alia reporting quality and investors' preference developed with IFRS adopter and non IFRS adopter firms over the years, starting in the time of the early adoption. The results from around 35,000 firm year observations in eleven countries show that only particular adopter firms generally show higher liquidity values over the years. Overall we can observe a clear trend. Market liquidity values are significantly higher for IFRS adopter firms during the years before 2005, the year in which reporting of consolidated accounts according to IFRS became mandatory for basically all publicly traded companies within the European Union and several other countries. Predominantly these values decrease over the years and turn into an advance for non IFRS adopter firms in the years after the mandatory adoption. Concluding, the results are supportive for the investors' long term preference, after distorting influences during the adoption years, for the non IFRS adopter firms. --