From neutron Compton profiles to momentum distribution: Assessment of direct numerical determination

Inelastic neutron scattering at high momentum transfers, in the neutron Compton scattering regime, provides an access to the neutron Compton profiles, the analogous of Compton profiles in X-ray scattering. The line shape analysis of the neutron Compton profiles is usually carried out making use of multiparametric nonlinear fitting, garnering detailed information about the momentum distribution of the target atoms. This paper presents the proposal to directly determine numerically the momentum distribution from the profiles, thus eliminating the possible instabilities present in multiparametric fitting. A comparison with Monte Carlo simulations and with previous measurements on polycrystalline ice provides quantitative assessments of the proposed method. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.