Abstract
The strongly repulsive core of the short-range nucleon-nucleon interaction leads to the existence of high-momentum nucleons in nuclei. Inclusive electron scattering can be used to probe these high-momentum nucleons and study the nature of the corresponding short-range correlations in nuclei. With recent data from Jefferson Lab we have begun to map out the strength of two-nucleon correlations in nuclei, while upcoming experiments should allow us to isolate the presence of multi-nucleon correlations. In addition to their importance in describing nuclear structure, these configurations of correlated nucleons represent high-density ‘droplets’ of hadronic matter. As the density of hadronic matter increases there should be a weakening of quark confinement, similar to the onset of deconfinement expected at extremely high temperatures. While there have been hints of non-hadronic structure in nuclei, future measurements will allow us to directly probe the quark distributions of high-density configurations in nuclei. A modified quark structure in these closely packed nucleons would provide a clear signature of exotic components to the structure of nuclei.
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Arrington, J. Do ordinary nuclei contain exotic states of matter?. Acta Phys. Hung. A 21, 295–300 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1556/APH.21.2004.2-4.30
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1556/APH.21.2004.2-4.30