Constraints in modeling the quasielastic response in inclusive lepton-nucleus scattering

TL;DR

This paper compares different theoretical models for the quasielastic response in inclusive lepton-nucleus scattering, validating their predictions against experimental data and exploring the effects of nuclear correlations.

Contribution

It demonstrates the consistency between the SuSAv2 and relativistic distorted wave models and analyzes the impact of nuclear correlations on the response functions.

Findings

SuSAv2 and relativistic distorted wave models produce similar QE responses.

Models agree well with recent JLab experimental data.

Long-range correlations significantly influence the low energy and momentum transfer responses.

Abstract

We show that the quasielastic (QE) response calculated with the SuSAv2 (superscaling approach) model, that relies on the scaling phenomenon observed in the analysis of (e,e') data and on the relativistic mean-field theory, is very similar to that from a relativistic distorted wave impulse approximation model when only the real part of the optical potentials is employed. The coincidence between the results from these two completely independent approaches, which satisfactorily agree with the inclusive data, reinforces the reliability of the quasielastic predictions stemming from both models and sets constraints for the QE response. We also study the low energy and momentum transfer region of the inclusive response by confronting the results of the relativistic mean-field model with those of the Hartree-Fock continuum random-phase approximation model, which accounts for nuclear long-range correlations. Finally, we present a comparison of our results with the recent JLab (e,e') data for argon, titanium and carbon, finding good agreement with the three data sets.