Polarized Deep-Inelastic Scattering from Nuclei -- A Relativistic Approach

A covariant formulation of spin-dependent deep-inelastic scattering from nuclei is presented. In the relativistic impulse approximation the inclusive nuclear cross section is described in terms of the amplitude for forward, virtual-photon scattering from an off-mass-shell nucleon. The general structure of the off-shell nucleon hadronic tensor is derived, and the leading behavior of the off-shell nucleon structure functions computed in the Bjorken limit. The formalism, which is valid for nucleons bound inside nuclei with spin 1/2 or 1, is applied to the case of the deuteron.