Electron Scattering on A = 3 Nuclei from Quantum Monte Carlo Based Approaches

Authors

Abstract

We perform first-principle calculations of electron-nucleus scattering on 3He and 3H using theGreens function Monte Carlo method and two approaches based on the factorization of the final hadronic state: the spectral-function formalism and the short-time approximation. These three methods are benchmarked among each other and compared to the experimental data for the longi- tudinal and transverse electromagnetic response functions of He, and the inclusive cross sections of both He and H. Since these three approaches are based on the same description of nuclear dynamics of the initial target state, comparing their results enables a precise quantification of the uncertainties inherent to factorization schemes. At sufficiently large values of the momentum transfer, we find an excellent agreement of the Greens function Monte Carlo calculation with experimental data and with both the spectral-function formalism and the short-time approximation. We also analyze the relevance of relativistic effects, whose inclusion becomes crucial to explain data at high momentumand energy transfer.