Nuclear Scaling with Low Momentum Interactions

Nuclear scaling is observed in the ratios of inclusive electron scattering on different nuclei for \(1.5\leq x_{B}\leq2.0\) at large momentum transfer \(Q^{2}\). The ratios depend on the nucleus but are independent of \(Q^{2}\), and have been understood to be a result of strong short-range correlations induced by the nucleon-nucleon interaction. Recent calculations of nuclear structure make use of the similarity renormalization group to soften the nuclear potential through a series of unitary transformations, which suppress these short range correlations.\footnote{E.D. Jurgenson, P. Navr\'atil, and R.J. Furnstahl, Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{103}, 082501 (2009).}\(^{,}\)\footnote{E. R. Anderson, S. K. Bogner, R. J. Furnstahl, and R. J. Perry, Phys. Rev. C \textbf{82}, 054001 (2010)} However, we can now understand and calculate this scaling ratio as an effect of low momentum nuclear structure via factorization of operator expectation values. Recent calculations in nuclear matter, and in a Hartree-Fock basis for finite nuclei will be presented. We also apply this framework to an observed correlation with the EMC effect.\footnote{L. B. Weinstein \textit{et al.}, Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{106}, 052301 (2011)}