A Multivariate Approach to Investigate Metallurgical Technology: The Case of the Chinese Ritual Bronzes

Abstract Research into ancient Chinese metallurgy has flourished over recent years with the accumulation of analytical data reflecting the needs of so many archaeological finds. However, the relationship between technology and society is unlikely to be revealed simply by analysing more artefacts. This is particularly evident in the debates over the sources of metals used to manufacture the Chinese ritual bronzes of the Shang (c. 1500-1046 BCE), Western Zhou (c. 1046–771 BCE) and Eastern Zhou (c. 771–256 BCE) dynasties. This article recognises that approaches to analytical data often fail to provide robust platforms from which to investigate metallurgical technology within its wider social and cultural contexts. To address this issue, a recently developed multivariate approach is applied to over 300 Chinese ritual bronzes from legacy data sets and nearly 100 unearthed copper-based objects from Anyang and Hanzhong. Unlike previous investigations that have relied predominantly on interpreting lead isotope signatures, the compositional analyses presented here indicate that copper and lead used to manufacture the bronzes are derived from mining progressively deeper ores in the same deposits rather than seeking out new sources. It is proposed that interpretations of social, cultural and technological change predicated on the acquisition of metals from disparate regions during the Chinese Bronze Age may need to be revised

Dynamics of a hole in the large--U Hubbard model: a Feynman diagram approach

We study the dynamics of a single hole in an otherwise half--filled two--dimensional Hubbard model by introducing a nonlocal Bogolyubov transformation in the antiferromagnetic state. This allows us to rewrite the Hamiltonian in a form that makes a separation between high--energy processes (involving double--occupancy) and low--energy physics possible. A diagrammatic scheme is developped that allows for a systematic study of the different processes delocalizing a carrier in the antiferromagnetic state. In particular, the so--called Trugman process, important if transverse spin fluctuations are neglected, is studied and is shown to be dominated by the leading vertex corrections. We analyze the dynamics of a single hole both in the Ising limit and with spin fluctuations. The results are compared with previous theories as well as with recent exact small--cluster calculations, and we find good agreement. The formalism establishes a link between weak and strong coupling methodologies.Comment: Latex 34pages, Orsay Preprint, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Scaling of nuclear modification factors for hadrons and light nuclei

The number of constituent quarks (NCQ-) scaling of hadrons and the number of constituent nucleons (NCN-) scaling of light nuclei are proposed for nuclear modification factors ($R_{cp}$) of hadrons and light nuclei, respectively, according to the experimental investigations in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. Based on coalescence mechanism the scalings are performed for pions and protons in quark level, and light nuclei $d (\bar d)$ and $^3$He for nucleonic level, respectively, formed in Au + Au and Pb + Pb collisions and nice scaling behaviour emerges. NCQ or NCN scaling law of $R_{cp}$ can be respectively taken as a probe for quark or nucleon coalescence mechanism for the formation of hadron or light nuclei in relativistic heavy-ion collisions.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure

Non-linear Plasma Wake Growth of Electron Holes

An object's wake in a plasma with small Debye length that drifts \emph{across} the magnetic field is subject to electrostatic electron instabilities. Such situations include, for example, the moon in the solar wind wake and probes in magnetized laboratory plasmas. The instability drive mechanism can equivalently be considered drift down the potential-energy gradient or drift up the density-gradient. The gradients arise because the plasma wake has a region of depressed density and electrostatic potential into which ions are attracted along the field. The non-linear consequences of the instability are analysed in this paper. At physical ratios of electron to ion mass, neither linear nor quasilinear treatment can explain the observation of large-amplitude perturbations that disrupt the ion streams well before they become ion-ion unstable. We show here, however, that electron holes, once formed, continue to grow, driven by the drift mechanism, and if they remain in the wake may reach a maximum non-linearly stable size, beyond which their uncontrolled growth disrupts the ions. The hole growth calculations provide a quantitative prediction of hole profile and size evolution. Hole growth appears to explain the observations of recent particle-in-cell simulations

First-Principles Study of Integer Quantum Hall Transitions in Mesoscopic Samples

We perform first principles numerical simulations to investigate resistance fluctuations in mesoscopic samples, near the transition between consecutive Quantum Hall plateaus. We use six-terminal geometry and sample sizes similar to those of real devices. The Hall and longitudinal resistances extracted from the generalized Landauer formula reproduce all the experimental features uncovered recently. We then use a simple generalization of the Landauer-B\"uttiker model, based on the interplay between tunneling and chiral currents -- the co-existing mechanisms for transport -- to explain the three distinct types of fluctuations observed, and identify the central region as the critical region.Comment: changes to acknowledgements onl