The PANDA experiment has a great potential to test QCD in the low momentum transfer region with unprecedented accuracy by performing very precise hadron spectroscopy. To achieve this goal the resonance scan method will be used to determine the mass and width of variety of hadronic states. This technique requires a precise knowledge of the luminosity. This thesis develops the conceptual design of the detector allowing to measure the absolute luminosity with about 3% precision. The detector concept is based on the measurement of elastically scattered antiprotons from the interaction region in the Coulomb-nuclear interference region. Due to the finite beam emittance and the finite size of the interaction volume, the track of the antiproton has to be reconstructed in the luminosity monitor, and not just one point. The detector will located between z = +10 m and z= +13 m downstream of the interaction point and will consist of four planes of four sensors each covering the polar angular range of 2.8 < theta < 7.5 mrad. The performance study of this detector is one of the main topics of this thesis. These studies were done using Monte Carlo simulations within the PandaRoot framework and the results were compared with the measured data obtained from the tracking station beam test performed at COSY with proton beams. This work then addressed the question of how the performance of the luminosity monitor effects the determination of the mass and width measurements of X(3872) state using the full PANDA setup. The measurements were performed for three different assumed widths. The influences of the signal to background ratio and the uncertainty on the luminosity were investigated.

The thesis concerns the prospects of studying multi-strange and charmed antihyperon-hyperon physics and CP violation in hyperon decays in the upcoming PANDA experiment. The angular distribution dependence on polarisation parameters in the decay of the spin 3/2 Omega hyperon was calculated using the density matrix formalism. Expressions for the angular distributions in both the Ω → ΛK and the subsequent Λ → pπ were obtained.

The development of a system for optical tracking of frozen hydrogen microsphere targets (pellets) was done. It is intended for the upcoming hadron physics experiment PANDA at FAIR, Darmstadt, Germany. Knowledge of the interaction position, obtained with this system, will improve background rejection, precision of particle track reconstruction and will also help distinguish between primary and secondary vertices. Investigations of pellet detection conditions and pellet stream parameters were performed at Uppsala Pellet Test Station located at The Svedberg Laboratory. Various illumination and detection conditions were checked and optimized. The gained knowledge has been used to develop Monte Carlo procedures simulating experiments with pellets. Then simulations of pellet tracking were carried out including the constraints from the PANDA setup. The performance of the tracking was checked for various pellet stream and pellet detection conditions. Two procedures of pellet track reconstruction were developed – a fast procedure and a high efficiency procedure. The studies were done for one tracking section (just below pellet generator) and for two sections (the second just above pellet dump) and showed that the resolution of the tracking system can be better than 100 μm (sigma) in each direction and that the interaction point will be reconstructed for 70-95% of hadronic events, for suitable pellet stream and detection conditions. Usage of pellet tracking information in the hadronic data analysis was discussed, concerning the data taking, particle track reconstruction together with the PANDA micro vertex detector, hadronic event classification and treatment of the various classes. Test measurements with the WASA setup at FZJ, Jülich, Germany were done to check how the information about the number of pellets in the accelerator beam region can be used in the hadronic data analysis. Instantaneous rates of WASA "elastic" triggers were used for classification of hadronic events as coming from pellets or from a background. The study clearly showed that one can distinguish between the two event classes. The study gave experience in using two different systems synchronized with each other – the experiment's DAQ and another system that works with a much longer time scale – similar to the pellet tracking system.