Ekphrastic Medieval Visions: A New Discussion in Ekphrasis and Interarts Theory

Ekphrastic Medieval Visions: A New Discussion in Ekphrasis and Interarts Theory argues that the dream-vision and mystical-vision texts of the high and late Middle Ages are ekphrastic works. With their inclusion within the purview of criticism and theories of ekphrasis, new formal qualities of the ekphrastic mode come to the surface such as its dynamism and polytemporality, its reliance on the processes of memory, and diffuseness of narrative consciousness, rather than Murray Krieger\u27s still moment model that presupposes a sovereign subjectivity, an attempt to have the sign signify itself, or the paragone model espoused by W. J. T. Mitchell and James Heffernan that defines the ekphrastic parameters through a predetermined battle of binaries, visual and verbal, masculine and feminine. Chapter One of the dissertation provides an overview of the history of the study of ekphrasis and critiques mainstream definitions of ekphrasis. Discussion in the second chapter uncovers the differences between ekphrastic renderings of a static art object as per the traditional conceptions of ekphrasis, and the spatiotemporal dynamism that characterizes the ekphrastic dream. Chapters Three and Four examine these characteristics through close readings of two medieval dream-vision texts: Pearl and Piers Plowman respectively. Chapter Five treats the ekphrastic nature of the medieval mystical visionary text, noting its relationship to memory and traditional characteristics of mystical visions, such as apophasis and synaesthesia; the subsequent two chapters respectively examine the ekphrasis of Hildegard of Bingen\u27s Scivias and the space of revision between Julian of Norwich\u27s A Vision Showed to a Devout Woman and A Revelation of Love. The conclusion considers contemporary poetry by Barbara Guest, Kathleen Fraser, and Ciaran Carson in light of the new information that medieval texts bring to the understanding of the ekphrastic mode and discusses intersecting concerns of the medieval and contemporary periods about authorship and authority, interpretation, the time and space of the text, and the discernment or questioning of literary and aesthetic boundaries

Tephrochronology and its application: A review

Tephrochronology (from tephra, Gk ‘ashes’) is a unique stratigraphic method for linking, dating, and synchronizing geological, palaeoenvironmental, or archaeological sequences or events. As well as utilising the Law of Superposition, tephrochronology in practise requires tephra deposits to be characterized (or ‘fingerprinted’) using physical properties evident in the field together with those obtained from laboratory analyses. Such analyses include mineralogical examination (petrography) or geochemical analysis of glass shards or crystals using an electron microprobe or other analytical tools including laser-ablation-based mass spectrometry or the ion microprobe. The palaeoenvironmental or archaeological context in which a tephra occurs may also be useful for correlational purposes. Tephrochronology provides greatest utility when a numerical age obtained for a tephra or cryptotephra is transferrable from one site to another using stratigraphy and by comparing and matching inherent compositional features of the deposits with a high degree of likelihood. Used this way, tephrochronology is an age-equivalent dating method that provides an exceptionally precise volcanic-event stratigraphy. Such age transfers are valid because the primary tephra deposits from an eruption essentially have the same short-lived age everywhere they occur, forming isochrons very soon after the eruption (normally within a year). As well as providing isochrons for palaeoenvironmental and archaeological reconstructions, tephras through their geochemical analysis allow insight into volcanic and magmatic processes, and provide a comprehensive record of explosive volcanism and recurrence rates in the Quaternary (or earlier) that can be used to establish time-space relationships of relevance to volcanic hazard analysis. The basis and application of tephrochronology as a central stratigraphic and geochronological tool for Quaternary studies are presented and discussed in this review. Topics covered include principles of tephrochronology, defining isochrons, tephra nomenclature, mapping and correlating tephras from proximal to distal locations at metre- through to sub-millimetre-scale, cryptotephras, mineralogical and geochemical fingerprinting methods, numerical and statistical correlation techniques, and developments and applications in dating including the use of flexible depositional age-modelling techniques based on Bayesian statistics. Along with reference to wide-ranging examples and the identification of important recent advances in tephrochronology, such as the development of new geoanalytical approaches that enable individual small glass shards to be analysed near-routinely for major, trace, and rare-earth elements, potential problems such as miscorrelation, erroneous-age transfer, and tephra reworking and taphonomy (especially relating to cryptotephras) are also examined. Some of the challenges for future tephrochronological studies include refining geochemical analytical methods further, improving understanding of cryptotephra distribution and preservation patterns, improving age modelling including via new or enhanced radiometric or incremental techniques and Bayesian-derived models, evaluating and quantifying uncertainty in tephrochronology to a greater degree than at present, constructing comprehensive regional databases, and integrating tephrochronology with spatially referenced environmental and archaeometric data into 3-D reconstructions using GIS and geostatistics

Multidifferential study of identified charged hadron distributions in ZZ-tagged jets in proton-proton collisions at s=\sqrt{s}=13 TeV

Jet fragmentation functions are measured for the first time in proton-proton collisions for charged pions, kaons, and protons within jets recoiling against a $Z$ boson. The charged-hadron distributions are studied longitudinally and transversely to the jet direction for jets with transverse momentum 20 $< p_{\textrm{T}} < 100$ GeV and in the pseudorapidity range $2.5 < \eta < 4$. The data sample was collected with the LHCb experiment at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.64 fb$^{-1}$. Triple differential distributions as a function of the hadron longitudinal momentum fraction, hadron transverse momentum, and jet transverse momentum are also measured for the first time. This helps constrain transverse-momentum-dependent fragmentation functions. Differences in the shapes and magnitudes of the measured distributions for the different hadron species provide insights into the hadronization process for jets predominantly initiated by light quarks.Comment: All figures and tables, along with machine-readable versions and any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-013.html (LHCb public pages

Study of the B−→Λc+Λˉc−K−B^{-} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} \bar{\Lambda}_{c}^{-} K^{-} decay

The decay $B^{-} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} \bar{\Lambda}_{c}^{-} K^{-}$ is studied in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5 $\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ collected by the LHCb experiment. In the $\Lambda_{c}^+ K^{-}$ system, the $\Xi_{c}(2930)^{0}$ state observed at the BaBar and Belle experiments is resolved into two narrower states, $\Xi_{c}(2923)^{0}$ and $\Xi_{c}(2939)^{0}$, whose masses and widths are measured to be $$m(\Xi_{c}(2923)^{0}) = 2924.5 \pm 0.4 \pm 1.1 \,\mathrm{MeV}, \\ m(\Xi_{c}(2939)^{0}) = 2938.5 \pm 0.9 \pm 2.3 \,\mathrm{MeV}, \\ \Gamma(\Xi_{c}(2923)^{0}) = \phantom{000}4.8 \pm 0.9 \pm 1.5 \,\mathrm{MeV},\\ \Gamma(\Xi_{c}(2939)^{0}) = \phantom{00}11.0 \pm 1.9 \pm 7.5 \,\mathrm{MeV},$$ where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic. The results are consistent with a previous LHCb measurement using a prompt $\Lambda_{c}^{+} K^{-}$ sample. Evidence of a new $\Xi_{c}(2880)^{0}$ state is found with a local significance of $3.8\,\sigma$, whose mass and width are measured to be $2881.8 \pm 3.1 \pm 8.5\,\mathrm{MeV}$ and $12.4 \pm 5.3 \pm 5.8 \,\mathrm{MeV}$, respectively. In addition, evidence of a new decay mode $\Xi_{c}(2790)^{0} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} K^{-}$ is found with a significance of $3.7\,\sigma$. The relative branching fraction of $B^{-} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} \bar{\Lambda}_{c}^{-} K^{-}$ with respect to the $B^{-} \to D^{+} D^{-} K^{-}$ decay is measured to be $2.36 \pm 0.11 \pm 0.22 \pm 0.25$, where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second systematic and the third originates from the branching fractions of charm hadron decays.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-028.html (LHCb public pages

Measurement of the ratios of branching fractions R(D∗)\mathcal{R}(D^{*}) and R(D0)\mathcal{R}(D^{0})

The ratios of branching fractions $\mathcal{R}(D^{*})\equiv\mathcal{B}(\bar{B}\to D^{*}\tau^{-}\bar{\nu}_{\tau})/\mathcal{B}(\bar{B}\to D^{*}\mu^{-}\bar{\nu}_{\mu})$ and $\mathcal{R}(D^{0})\equiv\mathcal{B}(B^{-}\to D^{0}\tau^{-}\bar{\nu}_{\tau})/\mathcal{B}(B^{-}\to D^{0}\mu^{-}\bar{\nu}_{\mu})$ are measured, assuming isospin symmetry, using a sample of proton-proton collision data corresponding to 3.0 fb${ }^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity recorded by the LHCb experiment during 2011 and 2012. The tau lepton is identified in the decay mode $\tau^{-}\to\mu^{-}\nu_{\tau}\bar{\nu}_{\mu}$. The measured values are $\mathcal{R}(D^{*})=0.281\pm0.018\pm0.024$ and $\mathcal{R}(D^{0})=0.441\pm0.060\pm0.066$, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. The correlation between these measurements is $\rho=-0.43$. Results are consistent with the current average of these quantities and are at a combined 1.9 standard deviations from the predictions based on lepton flavor universality in the Standard Model.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-039.html (LHCb public pages

Measurement of the charm mixing parameter yCP−yCPKπy_{CP} - y_{CP}^{K\pi} using two-body D0D^0 meson decays

A measurement of the ratios of the effective decay widths of $D^0 \to \pi^-\pi^+$ and $D^0 \to K^-K^+$ decays over that of $D^0 \to K^-\pi^+$ decays is performed with the LHCb experiment using proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of $13 \, \mathrm{TeV}$, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $6 \, \mathrm{fb^{-1}}$. These observables give access to the charm mixing parameters $y_{CP}^{\pi\pi} - y_{CP}^{K\pi}$ and $y_{CP}^{KK} - y_{CP}^{K\pi}$, and are measured as $y_{CP}^{\pi\pi} - y_{CP}^{K\pi} = (6.57 \pm 0.53 \pm 0.16) \times 10^{-3}$, $y_{CP}^{KK} - y_{CP}^{K\pi} = (7.08 \pm 0.30 \pm 0.14) \times 10^{-3}$, where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic. The combination of the two measurements is $y_{CP} - y_{CP}^{K\pi} = (6.96 \pm 0.26 \pm 0.13) \times 10^{-3}$, which is four times more precise than the previous world average

Measurement of the charm mixing parameter yCP−yCPKπy_{CP} - y_{CP}^{K\pi} using two-body D0D^0 meson decays

A measurement of the ratios of the effective decay widths of $D^0 \to \pi^-\pi^+$ and $D^0 \to K^-K^+$ decays over that of $D^0 \to K^-\pi^+$ decays is performed with the LHCb experiment using proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of $13 \, \mathrm{TeV}$, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $6 \, \mathrm{fb^{-1}}$. These observables give access to the charm mixing parameters $y_{CP}^{\pi\pi} - y_{CP}^{K\pi}$ and $y_{CP}^{KK} - y_{CP}^{K\pi}$, and are measured as $y_{CP}^{\pi\pi} - y_{CP}^{K\pi} = (6.57 \pm 0.53 \pm 0.16) \times 10^{-3}$, $y_{CP}^{KK} - y_{CP}^{K\pi} = (7.08 \pm 0.30 \pm 0.14) \times 10^{-3}$, where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic. The combination of the two measurements is $y_{CP} - y_{CP}^{K\pi} = (6.96 \pm 0.26 \pm 0.13) \times 10^{-3}$, which is four times more precise than the previous world average

Search for the decay B0→ϕμ+μ−B^0\to\phi\mu^+\mu^-

A search for the decay $B^0\to\phi\mu^+\mu^-$ is performed using proton-proton collisions at centre-of-mass energies of 7, 8, and 13 TeV collected by the LHCb experiment and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9 fb$^{-1}$. No evidence for the $B^0\to \phi \mu^+ \mu^-$ decay is found and an upper limit on the branching fraction, excluding the $\phi$ and charmonium regions in the dimuon spectrum, of $4.4 \times 10^{-3}$ at a 90$\%$ credibility level, relative to that of the $B^0_s \to \phi \mu^+ \mu^-$ decay, is established. Using the measured $B^0_s\to\phi\mu^+\mu^-$ branching fraction and assuming a phase-space model, the absolute branching fraction of the decay $B^0\to \phi \mu^+ \mu^-$ in the full $q^2$ range is determined to be less than $3.2 \times 10^{-9}$ at a 90$\%$ credibility level

Measurement of J/ψJ/\psi production cross-sections in pppp collisions at s=5\sqrt{s}=5 TeV

International audienceThe production cross-sections of $J/\psi$ mesons in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=5$ TeV are measured using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $9.13\pm0.18~\text{pb}^{-1}$, collected by the LHCb experiment. The cross-sections are measured differentially as a function of transverse momentum, $p_{\text{T}}$, and rapidity, $y$, and separately for $J/\psi$ mesons produced promptly and from beauty hadron decays (nonprompt). With the assumption of unpolarised $J/\psi$ mesons, the production cross-sections integrated over the kinematic range $0<p_{\text{T}}<20~\text{GeV}/c$ and $2.0<y<4.5$ are $8.154\pm0.010\pm0.283~\mu\text{b}$ for prompt $J/\psi$ mesons and $0.820\pm0.003\pm0.034~\mu\text{b}$ for nonprompt $J/\psi$ mesons, where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic. These cross-sections are compared with those at $\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV and $13$ TeV, and are used to update the measurement of the nuclear modification factor in proton-lead collisions for $J/\psi$ mesons at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of $\sqrt{s_{\text{NN}}}=5$ TeV. The results are compared with theoretical predictions

Study of Z Bosons Produced in Association with Charm in the Forward Region

International audienceEvents containing a $Z$ boson and a charm jet are studied for the first time in the forward region of proton-proton collisions. The data sample used corresponds to an integrated luminosity of $6$ $fb^{-1}$ collected at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with the LHCb detector. In events with a $Z$ boson and a jet, the fraction of charm jets is determined in intervals of $Z$-boson rapidity in the range $2.0 < y(Z) < 4.5$. A sizable enhancement is observed in the forward-most $y(Z)$ interval, which could be indicative of a valence-like intrinsic-charm component in the proton wave function