Scaling in quasielastic electron scattering

The inclusive (e, e') cross section on various nuclei in the quasielastic region (Q2/2Mν/similar to/1) has recently been measured in the range 0.25≤Q2≤3.1. Analysis of these data in the plane-wave impulse approximation allows extraction of a scaling function related to the nucleon momentum distribution. Variation of the scaling function in Q2 represents a breakdown of these assumptions in the analysis. Recent theoretical work indicates that the observed scaling violations can be understood as corrections to the impulse approximation and the experimental scaling functions at the highest measured Q2 can be in fact be interpreted in terms of nucleon momentum distributions