Do short-range correlations cause the nuclear EMC effect in the deuteron?

The relative contributions to the valence nuclear EMC effect in the deuteron arising from off-shell effects and Fermi motion are examined in models which include nuclear binding and off-shell effects. Contrary to expectations, the effect of Fermi motion overwhelms the off-shell effects for nucleons in short-range correlations (SRCs), calling into question the hypothesized causal connection between SRCs and the EMC effect.