Polarized structure functions of nucleons and nuclei

We determine the quark distributions and structure functions for both unpolarized and polarized DIS of leptons on nucleons and nuclei. The scalar and vector mean fields in the nucleus modify the motions of the quarks inside the nucleons. By taking into account this medium modification, we are able to reproduce the experimental data on the unpolarized EMC effect, and to make predictions for the polarized EMC effect. We discuss examples of nuclei where the polarized EMC effect could be measured. We finally present an extension of our model to describe fragmentation functions. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.