New analysis of the common nuclear dependence of the EMC effect and short-range correlations

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the relationship between the EMC effect and short-range correlations in nuclei, highlighting their dependence on local nuclear density and presenting new experimental insights from Jefferson Lab data.

Contribution

It provides a new analysis linking the EMC effect and SRCs, emphasizing their shared sensitivity to local nuclear density, based on recent experimental data.

Findings

SRCs are sensitive to local nuclear density.

The relationship between EMC effect and SRCs is reinforced.

New Jefferson Lab data refines understanding of nuclear structure.

Abstract

The strong repulsive core of the nucleon-nucleon (NN) interaction at short distances prevents nucleons from becoming close to each other. This gives rise to high-momentum nucleons in the nucleus that cannot be explained in the context of the mean field and are commonly called short-range correlations (SRCs). They are responsible for the strength seen in momentum distribution tails seen in all nuclei, and we can obtain a relative measure of SRCs via cross section ratios to light nuclei. Recent inclusive scattering data from Jefferson Lab have allowed a precise determination of the A-dependence of SRCs in nuclei and suggests that, like the EMC effect, it is especially sensitive to the nuclear local density. These new results, as well as a new analysis of the relationship between SRCs and the EMC effect, will be presented and discussed.