Discovery vs. Precision in Nuclear Physics- A Tale of Three Scales

Understand

At least three length scales are important in gaining a complete understanding of the physics of nuclei.

• These are the radius of the nucleus, the average inter-nucleon separation distance, and the size of the nucleon.
• The connections between the different scales are examined by using examples that demonstrate the direct connection between short-distance and high momentum transfer physics and also that significant high momentum content of wave functions is inevitable.
• The nuclear size is connected via the independent-pair approximation to the nucleon-nucleon separation distance, and this distance is connected via the concept of virtuality to the EMC effect.