AccelerationBands

Price Headley's momentum-biased band: the upper and lower envelopes widen with the bar's relative range (H − L) / (H + L), so impulsive bars flare the bands while quiet bars compress them.

Quick reference

Field	Value
Family	Bands & Channels
Input type	Candle (uses high, low, close)
Output type	AccelerationBandsOutput { upper, middle, lower }
Output range	unbounded; lower ≤ middle ≤ upper (on non-degenerate input)
Default parameters	period = 20, factor = 0.001
Warmup period	period (exact)
Interpretation	Breakout-style. Headley enters on closes outside the band; exits on a tag of the middle.

Formula

ratio    = (high − low) / (high + low)
raw_up   = high · (1 + factor · ratio)
raw_lo   = low  · (1 − factor · ratio)
upper    = SMA(raw_up, period)
middle   = SMA(close,  period)
lower    = SMA(raw_lo, period)

ratio is a fractional range measure, so the literal factor for intraday equity markets is small (~0.001 in Headley's reference publication). On crypto and other higher-volatility assets traders typically raise it to 0.01–0.05. The three component series are each smoothed by their own SMA, so the bands inherit the SMA's warmup and ordering.

Parameters

Name	Type	Default	Constraint	Source
period	usize	20	>= 1	AccelerationBands::new (acceleration_bands.rs:69)
factor	f64	0.001	finite, > 0	acceleration_bands.rs:70

period == 0 returns [Error::PeriodZero]; a non-finite or non-positive factor returns [Error::NonPositiveMultiplier]. AccelerationBands::classic() returns (20, 0.001). Python defaults come from #[pyo3(signature = (period=20, factor=0.001))]; the Node constructor takes both arguments explicitly.

Inputs / Outputs

use wickra::{Indicator, AccelerationBands, Candle, AccelerationBandsOutput};
// AccelerationBands: Input = Candle, Output = AccelerationBandsOutput
const _: fn(&mut AccelerationBands, Candle) -> Option<AccelerationBandsOutput> = <AccelerationBands as Indicator>::update;

• Python streaming. update(candle) returns (upper, middle, lower) or None.
• Python batch. AccelerationBands.batch(high, low, close) returns an (n, 3) np.ndarray with columns [upper, middle, lower]; warmup rows are NaN.
• Node streaming. update(high, low, close) returns a { upper, middle, lower } object or null.
• Node batch. batch(high, low, close) returns a flat Array<number> of length n * 3.

Warmup

All three SMAs are fed unconditionally on every candle so they warm up in lock-step; warmup_period() returns period and the first non-None output lands on candle period (index period − 1). Pinned by warmup_returns_none (period 5: candles 1–4 return None, candle 5 emits).

Edge cases

• Flat market. When high == low, ratio = 0, so raw_up == high and raw_lo == low; all three SMAs converge and the bands collapse onto the midline (test flat_market_collapses_to_constant).
• Zero-price bar. A degenerate high + low == 0 bar collapses the ratio to 0 rather than emitting NaN (test zero_price_candle_collapses_ratio_to_zero). Real OHLC never reaches this, but the guard keeps fuzz inputs well-behaved.
• Ordering. upper >= middle >= lower holds on non-degenerate data (test upper_above_middle_above_lower).
• Reset. reset() resets all three SMAs.

Examples

Rust

use wickra::{AccelerationBands, Candle, Indicator};

fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
    // Single bar, period 1, factor 0.5: high 12, low 8, close 10.
    // ratio = (12 − 8)/(12 + 8) = 0.2 → raw_up = 12·1.1 = 13.2, raw_lo = 8·0.9 = 7.2.
    let mut ab = AccelerationBands::new(1, 0.5)?;
    let v = ab.update(Candle::new(10.0, 12.0, 8.0, 10.0, 1.0, 0)?).unwrap();
    println!("upper={} middle={} lower={}", v.upper, v.middle, v.lower);
    Ok(())
}

Output:

upper=13.2 middle=10 lower=7.2

This matches the reference_value_single_bar test.

Python

import numpy as np
import wickra as ta

ab = ta.AccelerationBands(1, 0.5)
print(ab.batch(np.array([12.0]), np.array([8.0]), np.array([10.0])))  # [[13.2 10.  7.2]]

Node

const ta = require('wickra');
const ab = new ta.AccelerationBands(1, 0.5);
console.log(ab.update(12, 8, 10)); // { upper: 13.2, middle: 10, lower: 7.2 }

Interpretation

Acceleration Bands are momentum-biased rather than volatility-biased: the band width responds to each bar's relative range, so it flares the instant an impulsive bar prints rather than after volatility has been elevated for a full window.

1. Breakout entry. Headley's rule: a close outside the band signals a breakout in that direction; ride it while closes stay beyond the band.
2. Exit. A tag of the middle (SMA of close) ends the move.

This makes Acceleration Bands quicker to flag a fresh thrust than the slower-reacting BollingerBands or Keltner on the same period.

Common pitfalls

• Leaving factor at the equity default on crypto. 0.001 produces a near-invisible band on assets with large fractional ranges — raise it to 0.01–0.05.
• Confusing the band geometry. The width comes from high/low geometry smoothed by an SMA, not from a stddev or ATR — it will not match any sigma- or ATR-based band even qualitatively in choppy conditions.

References

• Price Headley, Big Trends in Trading: Strategies to Master Major Market Moves, Wiley, 2002. The "Acceleration Bands" chapter describes the original setup.

See also

• BollingerBands — sigma-driven width.
• Keltner — ATR-driven width with EMA centerline.
• StarcBands — SMA-centerline + ATR sibling.