Electroweak quasielastic response functions in nuclear matter

Abstract

Quasielastic electromagnetic and parity-violating electron scattering response functions of relativistic nuclear matter are reviewed. The roles played by the Hartree-Fock field and by nuclear correlations in the Random Phase Approximation (treated within the continued fraction scheme) are illustrated. The parity-violating responses of nuclei to polarized electrons are also revisited, stressing in particular the crucial role played by the pion in the nuclear dynamics. Finally, some issues surrounding scaling and sum rules are addressed.