Novel observation of isospin structure of short-range correlations in calcium isotopes

Abstract

Short-range correlations (SRCs) have been identified as being responsible for the high-momentum tail of the nucleon momentum distribution, $n(k)$. Hard, short-range interactions of nucleon pairs generate the high-momentum tail and imprint a universal character on $n(k)$ for all nuclei at large momentum. Triple coincidence experiments have shown a strong dominance of $np$ pairs, but these measurements involve large final-state interactions. This paper presents the results from Jefferson Lab experiment E08014 which measured inclusive electron scattering cross section from Ca isotopes. By comparing the inclusive cross section from $^{48}\mathrm{Ca}$ to $^{40}\mathrm{Ca}$ in a kinematic region dominated by SRCs we provide a new way to study the isospin structure of SRCs.