This was not the plan. But here I am, writing the last paragraphs of my disser tation. These years have been a journey, not just for the places I had a chance to visit but for both the challenges, rewards and personal growth.First and foremost, I am grateful to my supervisor Michael Felsberg for the trust he placed in me, and for being so patient and positive throughout this process, especially when things did not go according to plan. I would also like to thank my cosupervisors, PerErik Forssén for many interesting discussions and Fahad Khan for introducing me to the art of publishing sci entific papers.Science is not a solitary pursuit. I am very grateful for all the collabora tions within the lab, that actually made this thing possible in the first place: To Mikael Persson, both for our working together in various endeavors, both at CVL and outside, and helping out during stressful times. To Martin Danell jan with whom I shared an office, both for the collaborations on two papers, the discussions we had, and him taking the time to explain math much bet ter than any textbook. To Felix Järemo Lawin, for all the discussions and the sometimes stressful but ultimately fun work together. To Bertil Grelsson, for our work on a rather unusal and interesting project. To Abdelrahman Eldes okey, for diving into a new topic and joining me in that mad dash to get the last paper finished.I would like to thank everyone at CVL, past and present, both labmates and seniors, for the great and friendly work environment, interesting discussions and board games. Also many thanks to Mikael, Felix, Abdo, Gustav Häger and Emil Brissman, for proofreading and providing feedback on the manuscript.Finally, thank you to my family; to my brother for saying I could do this, and to mom and dad for their endless support, and just being there.