  Universality of short range correlations has been investigated both in
coordinate and in momentum space, by means of one-and two-body densities and
momentum distributions. In this contribution we discuss one- and two-body
momentum distributions across a wide range of nuclei and their common features
which can be ascribed to the presence of short range correlations. Calculations
for few-body nuclei, namely 3He and 4He, have been performed using exact wave
functions obtained with Argonne nucleon-nucleon interactions, while the linked
cluster expansion technique is used for medium-heavy nuclei. The center of mass
motion of a nucleon-nucleon pair in the nucleus, embedded in the full two-body
momentum distribution n_NN(krel,KCM), is shown to exhibit the universal
behavior predicted by the two-nucleon correlation model, in which the
nucleon-nucleon pair moves inside the nucleus as a deuteron in a mean-field.
Moreover, the deuteron-like spin-isospin (ST)=(10) contribution to the pn
two-body momentum distribution is obtained, and shown to exactly scale to the
deuteron momentum distribution. Universality of correlations in two-body
distributions is cast onto the one-body distribution n(k1), obtained by
integration of the two-body n_NN(k1, k2): in particular, the high momentum part
of n(k1) exhibits the same pattern for all considered nuclei, in favor of a
universal character of the short range structure of the nuclear wave function.
Perspectives of this work, namely the calculation of reactions involving light
and complex nuclei with realistic wave functions and effects of Final State
Interactions (FSI), investigated by means of distorted momentum distributions
within the Glauber multiple scattering approach, are eventually discussed.
