The relationship between the properties of nuclear matter and structure functions measured in lepton-nucleus deep inelastic scattering is investigated using light front dynamics. We find that relativistic mean field models such as the Walecka, Zimanyi-Moszkowski (and point-coupling versions of the same) and Rusnak-Furnstahl models contain essentially no binding effect, in accord with an earlier calculation by Birse. These models are found to obey the Hugenholtz-van Hove theorem, which is applicable if nucleons are the only degrees of freedom. Any model in which the entire Fock space wave function can be represented in terms of free nucleons must obey this theorem, which implies that all of the plus momentum is carried by nucleons, and therefore that there will be essentially no binding effect. The explicit presence of nuclear mesons allows one to obtain a modified form of the Hugenholtz-van Hove theorem, which is equivalent to the often-used momentum sum rule. These results argue in favor of a conclusion that the depletion of the deep inelastic structure function observed in the valence quark regime is due to some interesting effect involving dynamics beyond the conventional nucleon-meson treatment of nuclear physics.

24 pages, 3 Postscript figures