New data strengthen the connection between Short Range Correlations and the EMC effect

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that recent high-precision measurements of short-range correlations in nuclei reinforce the strong, robust correlation between these correlations and the EMC effect, supporting the idea that both phenomena are linked to high-momentum nucleons.

Contribution

The study provides new experimental data and analysis confirming the stability and robustness of the EMC-SRC correlation across different nuclei and correction methods.

Findings

The EMC-SRC linear correlation remains robust with new data.

The slope of the correlation is insensitive to various data corrections.

The results support a common origin related to high-momentum nucleons.

Abstract

Recently published measurements of the two nucleon short range correlation ($NN$-SRC) scaling factors, $a_2(A/d)$, strengthen the previously observed correlation between the magnitude of the EMC effect measured in electron deep inelastic scattering at $0.35\le x_B\le 0.7$ and the SRC scaling factor measured at $x_B \ge 1$. The new results have improved precision and include previously unmeasured nuclei. The measurements of $a_2(A/d)$ for $^9$Be and $^{197}$Au agree with published predictions based on the EMC-SRC correlation. This paper examines the effects of the new data and of different corrections to the data on the slope and quality of the EMC-SRC correlation, the size of the extracted deuteron IMC effect, and the free neutron structure function. The results show that the linear EMC-SRC correlation is robust and that the slope of the correlation is insensitive to most combinations of corrections examined in this work. This strengthens the interpretation that both $NN$-SRC and the EMC effect are related to high momentum nucleons in the nucleus.