Contamination by coherent scattering of the elastic incoherent structure factor observed in neutron scattering experiments

Abstract

The problem of contamination of the elastic incoherent structure factor by coherent scattering is discussed on the basis of neutron powder diffraction experiments and polarisation analysis. Measurements were carried out on partially deuterated poly(methyl methacrylate) over a wide temperature range below room temperature. The incoherent background scattering in the powder diffraction pattern is shown to have not only an angular dependence but also a strong temperature dependence.