Neutron Scattering

Neutron scattering is arguably the most powerful technique available for looking inside materials and seeing what the atoms are doing. This textbook provides a comprehensive and up-to-date account of the many different ways neutrons are being used to investigate the behaviour of atoms and molecules in bulk matter. It is written in a pedagogical style, and includes many examples and exercises. Every year, thousands of experiments are performed at neutron scattering facilities around the world, exploring phenomena in physics, chemistry, materials science, as well as in interdisciplinary areas such as biology, materials engineering, and cultural heritage. This book fulfils a need for a modern and pedagogical treatment of the principles behind the various different neutron techniques, in order to provide scientists with the essential formal tools to design their experiments and interpret the results. The book will be of particular interest to researchers using neutrons to study the atomic-scale structure and dynamics in crystalline solids, simple liquids and molecular fluids by diffraction techniques, including small-angle scattering and reflectometry, and by spectroscopic methods, ranging from conventional techniques for inelastic and quasielastic scattering to neutron spin-echo and Compton scattering. A comprehensive treatment of magnetic neutron scattering is given, including the many and diverse applications of polarized neutrons.

A long-awaited reprint of the book that has established itself as the classic textbook on neutron scattering. It will be an invaluable introductory text for students taking courses on neutron scattering, as well as for researchers and those who would like to deepen their knowledge on the subject through self-study.

Neutron scattering is an extremely powerful tool in the study of elemental excitations in condensed matter. This book provides a practical guide to basic techniques using a triple-axis spectrometer. Introductory chapters summarize useful scattering formulas and describe the components of a spectrometer, followed by a comprehensive discussion of the resolution function and focusing effects. Later sections include simple examples of phonon and magnon measurements, and an analysis of spurious effects in both inelastic and elastic measurements, and how to avoid them. Finally, polarization analysis techniques and their applications are covered. This guide will allow graduate students and experienced researchers new to neutron scattering to make the most efficient use of their experimental time.

The advent of new neutron facilities and the improvement of existing sources and instruments world wide supply the biological community with many new opportunities in the areas of structural biology and biological physics. The present volume offers a clear description of the various neutron-scattering techniques currently being used to answer biologically relevant questions. Their utility is illustrated through examples by some of the leading researchers in the field of neutron scattering. This volume will be a reference for researchers and a step-by-step guide for young scientists entering the field and the advanced graduate student.

Small-angle scattering of X rays and neutrons is a widely used diffraction method for studying the structure of matter. This method of elastic scattering is used in various branches of science and technology, includ ing condensed matter physics, molecular biology and biophysics, polymer science, and metallurgy. Many small-angle scattering studies are of value for pure science and practical applications. It is well known that the most general and informative method for investigating the spatial structure of matter is based on wave-diffraction phenomena. In diffraction experiments a primary beam of radiation influences a studied object, and the scattering pattern is analyzed. In principle, this analysis allows one to obtain information on the structure of a substance with a spatial resolution determined by the wavelength of the radiation. Diffraction methods are used for studying matter on all scales, from elementary particles to macro-objects. The use of X rays, neutrons, and electron beams, with wavelengths of about 1 A, permits the study of the condensed state of matter, solids and liquids, down to atomic resolution. Determination of the atomic structure of crystals, i.e., the arrangement of atoms in a unit cell, is an important example of this line of investigation.

Neutron Scattering from Magnetic Materials is a comprehensive account of the present state of the art in the use of the neutron scattering for the study of magnetic materials. The chapters have been written by well-known researchers who are at the forefront of this field and have contributed directly to the development of the techniques described. Neutron scattering probes magnetic phenomena directly. The generalized magnetic susceptibility, which can be expressed as a function of wave vector and energy, contains all the information there is to know about the statics and dynamics of a magnetic system and this quantity is directly related to the neutron scattering cross section. Polarized neutron scattering techniques raise the sophistication of measurements to even greater levels and gives additional information in many cases. The present book is largely devoted to the application of polarized neutron scattering to the study of magnetic materials. It will be of particular interest to graduate students and researchers who plan to investigate magnetic materials using neutron scattering. · Written by a group of scientist who have contributed directly in developing the techniques described. · A complete treatment of the polarized neutron scattering not available in literature. · Gives practical hits to solve magnetic structure and determine exchange interactions in magnetic solids. · Application of neutron scattering to the study of the novel electronic materials.

Drawing on the author’s practical work from the last 20 years, Techniques in High Pressure Neutron Scattering is one of the first books to gather recent methods that allow neutron scattering well beyond 10 GPa. The author shows how neutron scattering has to be adapted to the pressure range and type of measurement. Suitable for both newcomers and experienced high pressure scientists and engineers, the book describes various solutions spanning two to three orders of magnitude in pressure that have emerged in the past three decades. Many engineering concepts are illustrated through examples of real high pressure devices that have demonstrated their capacity and have produced scientific results. After introducing basic engineering concepts related to the elastic and plastic behavior of cylindrical pressure devices, the text emphasizes mechanical and neutronic properties of construction materials. Subsequent chapters describe numerous high pressure techniques, including liquid/gas, clamp, and McWhan cells. The book also focuses on Paris-Edinburgh devices, high pressure metrology, and scientific applications.

The first systematic experiments in neutron scattering were carried out in the late 1940s using fission reactors built for the nuclear power programme. Crystallographers were amongst the first to exploit the new technique, but they were soon followed by condensed matter physicists and chemists. Engineers and biologists are the most recent recruits to the club of neutron users. The aim of the book is to provide a broad survey of the experimental activities of all these users. There are many specialist monographs describing particular examples of the application of neutron scattering: fifteen of such monographs have been published already in the Oxford University Press series edited by S. Lovesey and E. Mitchell. However this book will appeal to newcomers to the field of neutron scattering, who may be intimidated by the bewildering array of instruments at central facilities (such as the Institut Laue Langevin in France, the ISIS Laboratory in the UK, or the PSI Laboratory in Switzerland), and who may be uncertain as to which instrument to use.