Counting the number of correlated pairs in a nucleus

TL;DR

This paper introduces a method to estimate the number of correlated nucleon pairs in various nuclei by counting pairs in a relative S state, linking these counts to electron scattering cross sections.

Contribution

It proposes a novel approach to quantify nucleon correlations in nuclei by counting specific pair states and applies this to multiple nuclei to predict scattering ratios.

Findings

Counts of nucleon pairs in S states vary across nuclei.

Predicted electron scattering cross section ratios match experimental trends.

Method provides a new way to estimate nuclear correlations.

Abstract

We suggest that the number of correlated nucleon pairs in an arbitrary nucleus can be estimated by counting the number of proton-neutron, proton-proton, and neutron-neutron pairs residing in a relative $S$ state. We present numerical calculations of those amounts for the nuclei $^{4}$He, $^{9}$Be, $ ^{12}$C, $ ^{27}$Al, $ ^{40}$Ca, $ ^{48}$Ca, $ ^{56}$Fe, $ ^{63}$Cu, $ ^{108}$Ag, and $ ^{197}$Au. The results are used to predict the values of the ratios of the per-nucleon electron-nucleus inelastic scattering cross section to the deuteron in the kinematic regime where correlations dominate.