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The main features of the convolution model which, in the region of two-nucleon (2N) and three-nucleon (3N) short-range correlations (SRC), describes the one-nucleon momentum distribution n(k_1) and the spectral function P(k_1,E) in terms of a convolution integral involving the relative n_{rel}(k_{rel}) and the center-of-mass n_{c.m.}(K_{c.m.}) momentum distributions of a nucleon-nucleon pair, are illustrated in detail. It is stressed that the model, which stems from the universal property of factorization exhibited by the nuclear wave function at short inter-nucleon distances, is only applicable in a well-defined region of k_{rel} and K_{c.m.}; it is shown, in particular, that the requirement of factorization introduces a severe constraint on the values of k_{rel} and K_{c.m.} that appear in the convolution integral. Using ab-initio relative and c.m. momentum distributions for ^3He, the validity of the convolution model is investigated by comparing the model spectral function and momentum distributions with the ones resulting from ab-initio calculations performed with realistic local NN interaction of the Argonne family. It is shown that when the constraint on the value of k_{rel} and K_{c.m.} are correctly taken into account and only 2N SRC are taken into account, the convolution model is in good agreement with the ab-initio spectral function in the region of the peak exhibited by the latter, whereas far from the peak, particularly at high values of the removal energy, the model spectral function can be qualitatively reconciled with the ab-initio spectral function only by considering the effects of 3N SRC. As for the nucleon momentum distribution, the effects of 3N SRC appears to be very small., Comment: 25 pages, 8 figures

By analyzing recent microscopic many-body calculations of few-nucleon systems and complex nuclei performed by different groups in terms of realistic nucleon-nucleon (NN) interactions, it is shown that NN short-range correlations (SRCs) have a universal character, in that the correlation hole that they produce in nuclei appears to be almost A-independent and similar to the correlation hole in the deuteron. The correlation hole creates high-momentum components, missing in a mean-field (MF) description and exhibiting several scaling properties and a peculiar spin-isospin structure. In particular, the momentum distribution of a pair of nucleons in spin-isospin state $(ST)=(10)$, depending upon the pair relative ($k_{rel}$) and center-of-mass (c.m.) ($K_{c.m.}$) momenta, as well as upon the angle $\Theta$ between them, exhibits a remarkable property: in the region $k_{rel}\gtrsim 2\,fm^{-1}$ and $K_{c.m.}\lesssim 1\,fm^{-1} $, the relative and c.m. motions are decoupled and the two-nucleon momentum distribution factorizes into the deuteron momentum distribution and an A-dependent momentum distribution describing the c.m. motion of the pair in the medium. The impact of these and other properties of one- and two-nucleon momentum distributions on various nuclear phenomena, on ab initio calculations in terms of low-momentum interactions, as well as on ongoing experimental investigations of SRCs, are briefly commented., Comment: 32 pages, 19 figures, Review paper to appear in Int. Journal of Mod. Phys. E

The nucleon momentum distribution $n_A(k)$ for $A=$2, 3, 4, 16, and 40 nuclei is systematically analyzed in terms of wave functions resulting from advanced solutions of the nonrelativistic Schr\"{o}dinger equation, obtained within different many-body approaches. Particular attention is paid to the separation of the momentum distributions into the mean-field and short-range correlations (SRC) contributions. It is shown that at high values of the momentum $k$ the high-momentum components ($k\gtrsim 1.5-2$ fm$^{-1}$) of all nuclei considered are very similar, exhibiting the well-known scaling behavior with the mass number $A$, independently of the used many-body approach and the details of the bare $NN$ interaction. The number of $NN$ pairs in a given ($ST$) state, viz., ($ST$)=(10), (00), (01), and (11), and the contribution of these states to the nucleon momentum distributions are calculated. It is shown that, apart from the (00) state, which has very small effects, all other spin-isospin states contribute to the momentum distribution in a wide range of momenta. It is shown that that for all nuclei considered the momentum distributions in the states T=0 and T=1 exhibit at $k\gtrsim 1.5-2$ fm$^{-1}$ very similar behaviors, which represents strong evidence of the A-independent character of SRCs. The ratio $n_A(k)/n_D(k)$ is analyzed in detail stressing that in the SRC region it always increases with the momentum and the origin of such an increase is discussed and elucidated. The relationships between the one- and two-body momentum distributions, considered in a previous paper, are discussed and clarified, pointing out the relevant role played by the center-of-mass motion of a correlated pair in the (10) state. The relationship of the present approach with the many-body methods based upon low-momentum effective interactions is briefly discussed., Comment: Title changed; references added; typos corrected. Conclusions, Figures and Tables unchanged. To appear in Phys. Rev. C

Recent experimental data on inclusive and exclusive lepton and hadron scattering off nuclei have renewed the interest in theoretical and experimental studies of Short Range Correlations (SRC), due to the relevant impact they may have not only on the structure of ordinary nuclei but on the structure of hadronic matter at high densities as well. One of the ultimate aim of these studies is the determination of the probability of two- and three-nucleon correlations in nuclei. To this end, we have studied the possibility to extract these probabilities from a novel analysis of inclusive A(e, e')X processes in terms of relativistic scaling variables which incorporate effects from two- and three-nucleon SRC, with a resulting scaling function strictly related to longitudinal momentum distributions; such an approach led to a satisfactory explanation of the cross section ratios recently found at JLab and interpreted as strong evidence of SRC in nuclei., Comment: 7 pages, 9 figures. To be published in the Proceedings of the 30th Anniversary International Workshop on Nuclear Theory. Rila Mountains, 26 June -2 July 2011, SOFIA: Heron Press Science Series

Using realistic wave functions, the proton-neutron and proton-proton momentum distributions in $^3He$ and $^4He$ are calculated as a function of the relative, $k_{rel}$, and center of mass, $K_{CM}$, momenta, and the angle between them. For large values of ${k}_{rel}\gtrsim 2\,\,fm^{-1}$ and small values of ${K}_{CM} \lesssim 1.0\,\,fm^{-1}$, both distributions are angle independent and decrease with increasing $K_{CM}$, with the $pn$ distribution factorizing into the deuteron momentum distribution times a rapidly decreasing function of $K_{CM}$, in agreement with the two-nucleon (2N) short range correlation (SRC) picture. When $K_{CM}$ and $k_{rel}$ are both large, the distributions exhibit a strong angle dependence, which is evidence of three-nucleon (3N) SRC. The predicted center-of-mass and angular dependence of 2N and 3N SRC should be observable in two-nucleon knock-out processes $A(e,e'pN)X$., Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures

This report is based on a ten-week program on "Gluons and the quark sea at high-energies", which took place at the Institute for Nuclear Theory in Seattle in Fall 2010. The principal aim of the program was to develop and sharpen the science case for an Electron-Ion Collider (EIC), a facility that will be able to collide electrons and positrons with polarized protons and with light to heavy nuclei at high energies, offering unprecedented possibilities for in-depth studies of quantum chromodynamics. This report is organized around four major themes: i) the spin and flavor structure of the proton, ii) three-dimensional structure of nucleons and nuclei in momentum and configuration space, iii) QCD matter in nuclei, and iv) Electroweak physics and the search for physics beyond the Standard Model. Beginning with an executive summary, the report contains tables of key measurements, chapter overviews for each of the major scientific themes, and detailed individual contributions on various aspects of the scientific opportunities presented by an EIC., Comment: 547 pages, A report on the joint BNL/INT/Jlab program on the science case for an Electron-Ion Collider, September 13 to November 19, 2010, Institute for Nuclear Theory, Seattle; v2 with minor changes, matches printed version

The so called number of hadron-nucleus collisions n_coll(b) at impact parameter b, and its integral value N_coll, which are used to normalize the measured fractional cross section of a hard process, are calculated within the Glauber-Gribov theory including the effects of nucleon short-range correlations. The Gribov inelastic shadowing corrections are summed to all orders by employing the dipole representation. Numerical calculations are performed at the energies of the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC). We found that whereas the Gribov corrections generally increase the value of N_coll, the inclusion of nucleon correlations, acting in the opposite directions, decreases it by a comparable amount. The interplay of the two effects varies with the value of the impact parameter., Comment: Text expanded; typos corrected; results and conclusions unchanged. To appear in Phys. Rev. C

The semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering of electrons off a nucleus A with detection of a slow nucleus (A-1) in the ground or low excitation states, i.e. the process A(e,e'(A-1))X, can provide useful information on the origin of the EMC effect and the mechanisms of hadronization. The theoretical description of the process is reviewed and the results of several calculations on few-body systems and complex nuclei are presented., Comment: 16 pages, 7 Figures. Invited talk at the 3rd International Conference "Nuclear and Particle Physics with CEBAF at Jefferson Lab", Dubrovnik, October 3-8, 2010. To appear in the Journal "Fizika"

The effects of short range correlations (SRC) in inclusive (A(e,e')X) and exclusive (A(e,e'N)X and A(e,e'2N)X) are reviewed. A new approach to the analysis of inclusive cross sections is illustrated, based upon the introduction of proper scaling functions and variables which incorporate the effects of two- and three-nucleon SRC. The approach is used to interpret the plateaux observed in the CLAS inclusive cross section ratios of 4He, 12C and 56Fe to 3He., Comment: PhD Thesis, 131 pages, 86 figures

The effects of the final state interaction in slow proton production in semi inclusive deep inelastic scattering processes off nuclei, A(e,e'p)X, are investigated in details within the spectator and target fragmentation mechanisms; in the former mechanism, the hard interaction on a nucleon of a correlated pair leads, by recoil, to the emission of the partner nucleon, whereas in the latter mechanism proton is produced when the diquark, which is formed right after the visrtual photon-quark interaction, captures a quark from the vacuum. Unlike previous papers on the subject, particular attention is paid on the effects of the final state interaction of the hadronizing quark with the nuclear medium within an approach based upon an effective time-dependent cross section which combines the soft and hard parts of hadronization dynamics in terms of the string model and perturbative QCD, respectively. It is shown that the final state interaction of the hadronizing quark with the medium plays a relevant role both in deuteron and complex nuclei; nonetheless, kinematical regions where final state interaction effects are minimized can experimentally be selected, which would allow one to investigate the structure functions of nucleons embedded in the nuclear medium; likewise, regions where the interaction of the struck hadronizing quark with the nuclear medium is maximized can be found, which would make it possible to study non perturbative hadronization mechanisms., Comment: 35 pages, 12 figures, accepted for pubblication in Phys. Rev. C

It is shown that, if inclusive lepton scattering off nuclei at high momentum transfer is analyzed in terms of proper scaling variables, useful information on Nucleon-Nucleon short range correlations in nuclei can be obtained. The traditional approach to Y-scaling is critically analyzed and a novel approach to Y-scaling, which incorporates the effects from two- and three-nucleon correlations in nuclei, is illustrated., Comment: 14 pages, 14 figures, Extended version of a presentation given by CBM at the "Mini-symposium on Nuclear Structure at Short Distances" held within the "American Physical Society April Meeting", Denver, Colorado (USA), 2-5 May 2009. Bulletin of the American Physical Society, vol. 54 n. 4

In view of recent data from the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab) on inclusive electron scattering off nuclei at high momentum transfer (Q^2 > 1 GeV^2) and their current analysis, it is shown that, if the scaling variable is properly chosen, the analysis in terms of scaling functions can provide useful information on Short Range Correlations (SRC). This is demonstrated by introducing a new relativistic scaling variable that incorporates the momentum dependence of the excitation energy of the (A-1)system, with the resulting scaling function being closely related to the longitudinal momentum distributions., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, several typos removed, to appear in Phys. Rev. C Rapid Communications

The effects of short range correlations in lepton and hadron scattering off nuclei at medium and high energies are discussed., Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, invited talk at the 6th International Conference on Hadronic Physics, ICTP, Trieste, 12-16 May, 2008. To appear in AIP Proceedings Series