The high momentum transfer electron-nucleus scattering cross section is evaluated within the plane wave impulse approximation (PWIA) supplemented by the relativistic Hartree approximation (RHA). Binding effects on the struck nucleon are introduced through the scalar and vector meson-exchange fields within the framework of quantum hadrodynamics. This model naturally satisfies the current conservation, with the off-shell nucleons behaving as being on the mass shell but having an effective mass. The nucleon inelastic response is included via different parameterizations of the structure function measured at SLAC, while the smearing of the Fermi surface is introduced through a momentum distribution obtained from a perturbative nuclear matter calculation. Recent CEBAF data on inclusive scattering of 4.05 GeV electrons on 56Fe are well reproduced for all measured geometries by the first time. Scaling effects are analyzed as well, and the scaling properties of the nuclear response in terms of the y variable associated to the PWIA within the RHA framework are discussed. The theoretical scaling function obtained in our approach also significantly improves previous PWIA calculations within the multi-GeV electron scattering regime, and describes properly the CEBAF scaling data.
