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This chapter contains the basics of scattering theory. The present description is specialised to neutron scattering, but is in general valid also for scattering of other types of radiation, like electrons or X-rays.

In the process we describe in the main part of this chapter, neutrons are scattered by the nuclei by the strong nuclear forces. The range of these forces are femtometers (fm), much smaller than the neutron wavelength (measured in Å). Thus, the neutron cannot probe the internal structure of the nucleus, and the scattering from a single nucleus is isotropic<ref name="born">Eugen Merzbacher, ''Quantum Mechanics'', 3rd edition (Wiley, 1998)</ref>. In contrast, in the last section of the chapter, we describe the scattering of neutrons due to magnetic forces, which are of the Å range. For this reason, magnetic neutron scattering is not isotropic.

The contents of this chapter form the basis for the understanding of the later parts of these notes, in particular elastic and inelastic neutron scattering from particles, surfaces, powders, and crystals, as well as measurements of transmission through solid objects, also known as ''imaging''.

The process of neutron scattering is unavoidably of quantum mechanical nature. However, most of this chapter is kept less rigorous, since for many applications a full formal treatment is unnecessary. Although vastly different, these two approaches lead (in this case) to identical results. More strict, quantum mechanical derivations of the central expressions in this chapter are given in chapter 3.

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{{TOC limit|3}}

= [[The neutron cross sections]] =

{{:The neutron cross sections}}


= [[Wave description of nuclear scattering]] =

{{:Wave description of nuclear scattering}}


= [[Coherent and incoherent scattering]] =

{{:Coherent and incoherent scattering}}


= [[The magnetic scattering length]] =

{{:The magnetic scattering length}}


= [[Correlation between nuclear and magnetic scattering]] =

{{:Correlation between nuclear and magnetic scattering}}


= [[The total cross section for a system of particles]] =

{{:The total cross section for a system of particles}}


= [[Beam attenuation due to scattering and absorption]] =

{{:Beam attenuation due to scattering and absorption}}


 

[[Introduction to neutron scattering|←]]   Previous page: [[Introduction to neutron scattering]] 
[[Exercises in Basics of neutron scattering|→]]   Exercises: [[Exercises in Basics of neutron scattering]] 
[[Quantum treatment of elastic neutron scattering|→]]   Next page: [[Quantum treatment of elastic neutron scattering]]

Basics of neutron scattering - Revision history

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ucph>Tommy at 19:41, 27 August 2019