Nuclear binding, correlations, and the $A$-dependence of the EMC effect

Abstract

The measurements of inclusive electron scattering from nuclear targets carried out at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in the mid 2000s have provided valuable novel information on the $A$-dependence of the modifications of nuclear structure functions known as EMC effect. We argue that these data are best described in terms of the scaling variable $\widetilde{y}$, designed to take into account dynamical effects in interacting many-particle systems, and analyse the $A$-dependence of the slope of the inclusive cross section ratios, $R_A = (\sigma_A/A)/(\sigma_2/2)$, providing a measure of the size of the EMC effect in the region where nuclear binding plays a leading role. The results of our study clearly hint at a linear correlation between $dR_A(\widetilde{y})/d\widetilde{y}$ and the average nucleon removal energy $\langle E_A \rangle$. The role of correlation effects in the determination of $\langle E_A \rangle$ is highlighted.