Nuclear Fermi Momenta from Quasielastic Electron Scattering

The cross sections for quasielastic electron scattering from nine target nuclei from lithium to lead have been measured for an electron incident energy of 500 MeV and a scattering angle of 60°. The data are interpreted in terms of a Fermi gas model, yielding the nuclear Fermi momentum as a function of atomic number. The Fermi momentum increases from lithium to calcium and remains roughly constant at about 260 $\frac{\mathrm{MeV}}{c}$ from nickel to lead.