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

First measurement of the Z→μ+μ−Z\rightarrow \mu^+ \mu^- angular coefficients in the forward region of pppp collisions at s=13\sqrt{s}=13 TeV

The first study of the angular distribution of $\mu^+ \mu^-$ pairs produced in the forward rapidity region via the Drell-Yan reaction $pp \rightarrow \gamma^{*}/Z +X \rightarrow l^+ l^- + X$ is presented, using data collected with the LHCb detector at a centre-of-mass energy of 13TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.1 $\rm{fb}^{-1}$. The coefficients of the five leading terms in the angular distribution are determined as a function of the dimuon transverse momentum and rapidity. The results are compared to various theoretical predictions of the $Z$-boson production mechanism and can also be used to probe transverse-momentum-dependent parton distributions within the proton

Precision measurement of forward ZZ boson production in proton-proton collisions at s=13\sqrt{s} = 13 TeV

A precision measurement of the $Z$ boson production cross-section at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV in the forward region is presented, using $pp$ collision data collected by the LHCb detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.1 fb$^{-1}$. The production cross-section is measured using $Z\rightarrow\mu^+\mu^-$ events within the fiducial region defined as pseudorapidity $2.020$ GeV/$c$ for both muons and dimuon invariant mass $60<M_{\mu\mu}<120$ GeV/$c^2$. The integrated cross-section is determined to be \begin{equation*} \sigma(Z\rightarrow\mu^+\mu^-) = 195.3 \pm 0.2 \pm 1.5 \pm 3.9~pb, \end{equation*} where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is systematic, and the third is due to the luminosity determination. The measured results are in agreement with theoretical predictions, including a prediction at next-to-next-to-leading order in perturbative quantum chromodynamics and a prediction with resummation

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

Observation of an exotic narrow doubly charmed tetraquark

International audienceConventional, hadronic matter consists of baryons and mesons made of three quarks and a quark–antiquark pair, respectively$^{1,2}$. Here, we report the observation of a hadronic state containing four quarks in the Large Hadron Collider beauty experiment. This so-called tetraquark contains two charm quarks, a $\overline{{{{{u}}}}}$ and a $\overline{{{{{d}}}}}$ quark. This exotic state has a mass of approximately 3,875 MeV and manifests as a narrow peak in the mass spectrum of D$^{0}$D$^{0}$π$^{+}$ mesons just below the D$^{*+}$D$^{0}$ mass threshold. The near-threshold mass together with the narrow width reveals the resonance nature of the state

Study of charmonium and charmonium-like contributions in B+→J/ψηK+B^+ \rightarrow J/\psi \eta K^+ decays

International audienceA study of $B^+ \rightarrow J/\psi \eta K^+$ decays, followed by $J/\psi \rightarrow \mu^+ \mu^-$ and $\eta \rightarrow \gamma \gamma$, is performed using a dataset collected with the LHCb detector in proton-proton collisions at centre-of-mass energies of 7, 8 and 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9 fb$^{-1}$. The $J/\psi\eta$ mass spectrum is investigated for contributions from charmonia and charmonium-like states. Evidence is found for the $B^+\rightarrow \left( \psi_2(3823) \rightarrow J/\psi \eta \right) K^+$ and $B^+\rightarrow \left( \psi(4040) \rightarrow J/\psi \eta \right) K^+$ decays with significance of 3.4 and 4.7~standard deviations, respectively. This constitutes the~first~evidence for the $\psi_2(3823) \rightarrow J/\psi \eta$ decay