Excitations in the dilute A_L lattice model: E_6, E_7 and E_8 mass spectra

On the basis of features observed in the exact perturbation approach solution for the eigenspectrum of the dilute A_3 model, we propose expressions for excitations in the dilute A_4 and A_6 models. Principally, we require that these expressions satisfy the appropriate inversion relations. We demonstrate that they give the expected E_7 and E_6 mass spectra, and universal amplitudes, and agree with numerical expressions for the eigenvalues.Comment: 16 pages, Latex, Elsevier style file

Circulation in inviscid gas flows with shocks

In this note, we show that the circulation $\Gamma=\int_C\mathbf{u}\cdot\mathbf{dx}$ around a closed material curve $C(t)$ in an inviscid gas flow develops according to the equation $\frac{d\Gamma}{dt}=\int_CT\,dS$, even when the curve may cross shocks, with the entropy jumps at the shocks excluded from the right-hand side

Exactly solvable quantum spin tubes and ladders

We find families of integrable n-leg spin-1/2 ladders and tubes with general isotropic exchange interactions between spins. These models are equivalent to su(N) spin chains with N=2^n. Arbitrary rung interactions in the spin tubes and ladders induce chemical potentials in the equivalent spin chains. The potentials are n-dependent and differ for the tube and ladder models. The models are solvable by means of nested Bethe Ansatz.Comment: 6 pages, Latex, 1 eps fig, to appear in J. Phys.

Literary translation and soft power: African literature in Chinese translation

In the context of competing and conflicting discourses about the intensification of relations between China and Africa in the 21st century, this article explores the potential for gaining insight into China–Africa relations through a study of literary translation activities. The article presents the results of a survey of African literature translated into Chinese between 2000 and 2015 and argues that the majority of the translations can be linked with commercial motivations. However, the article also identifies a number of exceptions to this pattern and investigates these on a case by case basis, taking into account the political connections of the authors and drawing on interviews with the Chinese publishing houses. The article argues that literary translation can be connected with the cultivation of good political relations at the highest levels, as well as with the promotion of Sino-African friendship and of a positive view of China. The article asks whether such translation projects can be, or should be, classified as tools of ‘soft power’, and reflects more generally on the usefulness of the soft power concept for translation studies

Images of 'Africa' in China–Africa cooperation

The question of who represents Africa and how Africa is represented to global audiences continues to be hotly debated in academic publications and in the media. The majority of these discussions critique Western representations of Africa, or set up the West as the implied Other in debates over Africa’s right to self-representation. In recent years, however, Africa has found itself increasingly represented by the People’s Republic of China. This article examines the visual representations of ‘Africa’ that are used in promotional material produced by China in connection with official China–Africa cooperation. The article finds that one of the dominant stereotypes used by China is that of natural, ‘primitive’ Africa, a stereotype that has historically been strongly associated with the imperial gaze of the West. This is seen as potentially undermining key elements of China–Africa discourse, notably China’s emphasis on respect for its African partners. At the same time, the article highlights similarities between the imperial gaze and the tourist gaze, and considers the possibility that China’s representations of Africa might be compatible with a tourist gaze on Africa

Histoire des traductions en langue française, XXe siècle: 1914–2000. Sous la direction de Bernard Banoun, Isabelle Poulin et Yves Chevrel. Paris: Verdier, 2019. 1920 pp., ill.

This is the fourth volume of the Histoire des traductions en langue française (HTLF). The first, covering the nineteenth century, was published in 2012; further volumes covering the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries followed in 2014 and 2016. Altogether the project represents an astounding labour of scholarship and international collaboration, completed over a relatively short time period. The HTLF sets itself the ambitious goal of observing the role played by translations in all areas of intellectual enquiry. Around 40 per cent of the volume under review is devoted to literary translation, and a further 40 per cent is shared between other areas, such..