On Distribution Functions for Partons in Nuclei

Abstract

We suggest that a previously conjectured relation between Structure Functions (SF) for nuclei and nucleons also links distribution functions (df) for partons in a nucleus and in nucleons. The above suggestion ensures in principle identical results for SF $F_2^A$, whether computed with hadronic or partonic degrees of freedom. In practice there are differences, due to different $F_2^n$ input. We show that the thus defined nuclear parton distribution functions (pdf) respect standard sumrules. In addition we numerically compare some moments of nuclear SF, and find agreement between results, using hadronic and partonic descriptions. We present computations of EMC ratios for both, and compare those with hadronic predictions and data. In spite of substantial differences in the participating SF, the two representations produce approximately the same EMC ratios. The apparent correlation between the above deviations is ascribed to a sumrule for $F_2^A$. We conclude with a discussion of alternative approaches to nuclear pdf.

14 pages, 4 figures

References in corpus (9)

• Measurements of electron-proton elastic cross sections for $0.4<Q^2<5.5(GeV/c{)}^2$
• Nuclear parton distribution functions and their uncertainties
• Quark structure and nuclear effective forces
• Quark distributions in nuclear matter and the EMC effect
• Generalized Parton Distributions of ^3He
• Universality of the EMC Effect
• A simple qualitative description of EMC ratios μ^A for 0.2 <~ x <~ 1.5 and some sample calculations
• Quark Distributions in a Medium
• The Single Particle Sum Rules in the Deep-Inelastic Region

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