Testing the Paradigm of Nuclear Many-Body Theory

Nuclear many-body theory is based on the tenet that nuclear systems can be accurately described as collections of point-like particles. This picture, while providing a remarkably accurate explanation wealth measured properties atomic nuclei, bound to break down in high-density regime, which degrees freedom other than protons and neutrons are expected come into play. Valuable information validity description dense matter terms nucleons, needed firmly establish its limit applicability, obtained from electron–nucleus scattering data at large momentum transfer low energy transfer. The emergence y-scaling this kinematic region, unambiguously showing beam particles couple high-momentum nucleons belonging strongly correlated pairs, indicates densities five times density—typical neutron star interior—nuclear largely behaves collection nucleons.