Charmonium and charmoniumlike states at the BESIII experiment

New constraints on Cenozoic subduction between India and Tibet

The type of lithosphere subducted between India and Tibet since the Paleocene remains controversial; it has been suggested to be either entirely continental, oceanic, or a mixture of the two. As the subduction history of this lost lithosphere strongly shaped Tibetan intraplate tectonism, we attempt to further constrain its nature and density structure with numerical models that aim to reproduce the observed history of magmatism and crustal thickening in addition to present-day plateau properties between 83°E and 88°E. By matching time-evolving geological patterns, here we show that Tibetan tectonism away from the Himalayan syntaxis is consistent with the initial indentation of a craton-like terrane at 55 ± 5 Ma, followed by a buoyant tectonic plate with a thin crust, e.g., a broad continental margin (Himalandia). This new geodynamic scenario can explain the seemingly contradictory observations that had led to competing hypotheses like the subduction of Greater India versus largely oceanic subduction prior to Indian indentation.

Observation of Three Charmoniumlike States with J^{PC}=1^{--} in e^{+}e^{-}→D^{*0}D^{*-}π^{+}

The Born cross sections of the process e^{+}e^{-}→D^{*0}D^{*-}π^{+} at center-of-mass energies from 4.189 to 4.951 GeV are measured for the first time. The data samples used correspond to an integrated luminosity of 17.9  fb^{-1} and were collected by the BESIII detector operating at the BEPCII storage ring. Three enhancements around 4.20, 4.47, and 4.67 GeV are visible. The resonances have masses of 4209.6±4.7±5.9  MeV/c^{2}, 4469.1±26.2±3.6  MeV/c^{2}, and 4675.3±29.5±3.5  MeV/c^{2} and widths of 81.6±17.8±9.0  MeV, 246.3±36.7±9.4  MeV, and 218.3±72.9±9.3  MeV, respectively, where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic. The first and third resonances are consistent with the ψ(4230) and ψ(4660) states, respectively, while the second one is compatible with the ψ(4500) observed in the e^{+}e^{-}→K^{+}K^{-}J/ψ process. These three charmoniumlike ψ states are observed in the e^{+}e^{-}→D^{*0}D^{*-}π^{+} process for the first time.

An updated review of the new hadron states

The past decades witnessed the golden era of hadron physics. Many excited open heavy flavor mesons and baryons have been observed since 2017. We shall provide an updated review of the recent experimental and theoretical progresses in this active field. Besides the conventional heavy hadrons, we shall also review the recently observed open heavy flavor tetraquark statesX(2900) andTcc+(3875)as well as the hidden heavy flavor multiquark statesX(6900),Pcs(4459)0,Zcs(3985)-,Zcs(4000)+, andZcs(4220)+. We will also cover the recent progresses on the glueballs and light hybrid mesons, which are the direct manifestations of the non-AbelianSU(3) gauge interaction of the Quantum Chromodynamics in the low-energy region.

Rapid Eocene diversification of spiny plants in subtropical woodlands of central Tibet

Spinescence is an important functional trait possessed by many plant species for physical defence against mammalian herbivores. The development of spinescence must have been closely associated with both biotic and abiotic factors in the geological past, but knowledge of spinescence evolution suffers from a dearth of fossil records, with most studies focusing on spatial patterns and spinescence-herbivore interactions in modern ecosystems. Numerous well-preserved Eocene (~39 Ma) plant fossils exhibiting seven different spine morphologies discovered recently in the central Tibetan Plateau, combined with molecular phylogenetic character reconstruction, point not only to the presence of a diversity of spiny plants in Eocene central Tibet but a rapid diversification of spiny plants in Eurasia around that time. These spiny plants occupied an open woodland landscape, indicated by numerous megafossils and grass phytoliths found in the same deposits, as well as numerical climate and vegetation modelling. Our study shows that regional aridification and expansion of herbivorous mammals may have driven the diversification of functional spinescence in central Tibetan woodlands, ~24 million years earlier than similar transformations in Africa.

Spines are an important physical defense for many plant species. Here, the authors describe seven different spine morphologies from the Eocene of central Tibet associated with regional aridification and expansion of herbivorous mammals.

Innovative ochre processing and tool use in China 40,000 years ago

Homo sapiens was present in northern Asia by around 40,000 years ago, having replaced archaic populations across Eurasia after episodes of earlier population expansions and interbreeding^1-4. Cultural adaptations of the last Neanderthals, the Denisovans and the incoming populations of H. sapiens into Asia remain unknown^1,5-7. Here we describe Xiamabei, a well-preserved, approximately 40,000-year-old archaeological site in northern China, which includes the earliest known ochre-processing feature in east Asia, a distinctive miniaturized lithic assemblage with bladelet-like tools bearing traces of hafting, and a bone tool. The cultural assembly of traits at Xiamabei is unique for Eastern Asia and does not correspond with those found at other archaeological site assemblages inhabited by archaic populations or those generally associated with the expansion of H. sapiens, such as the Initial Upper Palaeolithic^8-10. The record of northern Asia supports a process of technological innovations and cultural diversification emerging in a period of hominin hybridization and admixture^2,3,6,11.

Electromagnetic Form Factor of Doubly-Strange Hyperon

The standard model of particle physics is a well-tested theoretical framework, but there are still some issues that deserve experimental and theoretical investigation. The Ξ resonances with strangeness S=−2, the so-called doubly-strange hyperon, can provide important information to further test the standard model by studying their electromagnetic form factors, such as probing the limitation of the quark models and spotting unrevealed aspects of the QCD description of the structure of hadron resonances. In this work, we review some recent studies of the electromagnetic form factors on doubly-strange hyperons in pair production from positron–electron annihilation experiment.