Compactifications of the universal Jacobian over curves with marked points

We construct modular compactifications of the universal Jacobian stack over the moduli stack of reduced curves with marked points depending on stability parameters obtained out of fixing a vector bundle on the universal curve. When restricted to the locus of stable marked curves, our compactifications are Deligne-Mumford irreducible smooth stacks endowed with projective moduli spaces and, following Esteves approach to the construction of fine compactifications of Jacobians, they parametrize torsion-free rank-1 simple sheaves satisfying a stability condition with respect to the fixed vector bundle. We also study a number of properties of our compactifications as the existence of forgetful and clutching morphisms and as well of sections from the moduli stack of stable curves with marked points. We conclude by indicating a number of different possible applications for our constructions.Comment: Exposition improved. Added Application to Universal N\'eron models for Jacobians of curves with marked point

Electromagnetic structure and weak decay of meson K in a light-front QCD-inspired

The kaon electromagnetic (e.m.) form factor is reviewed considering a light-front constituent quark model. In this approach, it is discussed the relevance of the quark-antiquark pair terms for the full covariance of the e.m. current. It is also verified, by considering a QCD dynamical model, that a good agreement with experimental data can be obtained for the kaon weak decay constant once a probability of about 80% of the valence component is taken into account.Comment: 4 pages and 1 figure eps. To appear Nucl. Phys. A (2007

The sigmatic future and the genetic affiliation of Venetic: Latin faxo 'I shall make' and Venetic vha.g.s.to 'he made'

Latin has a so-called sigmatic future faxo 'I shall make'. Scholars are divided as to the origins and antiquity of faxo; some believe it to go back to desideratives, others to aorists, and some argue that the formation arose within Latin, others that it can be traced back to Proto-Italic. Closely connected with these problems are the questions whether Venetic is an Italic language and whether its past ('aorist') tense vha.g.s.to 'he made' is related to fax (o) over bar. I intend to show that fax (o) over bar is based on inherited s-aorists, not on desideratives, that the formation arose late, within Latin itself rather than within Proto-Italic, and that there was never a past indicative beside it. Because of the last two reasons, vha.g.s.to must be independent of fax (o) over bar. Venetic may still be an Italic language, but the form vha.g.s.to cannot be used as an argument in favour of such a connection

‘Half Victim, Half Accomplice’: Cat Person and Narcissism

At the end of 2017, Kristen Roupenian’s short story, Cat Person, went viral. Published at the height of the #MeToo movement, it depicted a ‘toxic date’ and a disturbing sexual encounter between Margot, a college student, and Robert, an older man she meets at work. The story was widely viewed as a relatable denunciation of women’s powerlessness and routine victimization. In this paper, I push against this common reading. I propose an alternative feminist interpretation through the lens of Simone de Beauvoir’s notion of narcissism: a form of alienation that consists in making oneself both the subject and the ultimate project of one’s life. Framing Margot as a narcissist casts her as engaging, not in subtly coerced, undesired sex, but rather in sex that is desired in a tragically alienated way. I argue that Beauvoir’s notion of narcissism is an important tool for feminists today – well beyond the interpretation of Cat Person. It presses us to see systematic subordination not just as something done to women, but also as something women do to themselves. This in turn highlights the neglected role of self-transformation as a key aspect of feminist political resistance