Neutron time-of-flight scattering

In Neutron time-of-flight scattering, a form of inelastic neutron scattering, the initial position and velocity of the neutrons are fixed, and their final position and velocity are measured. These pairs of coordinates may be transformed into momenta and energies for the neutrons, and the experimentalist may use this information to calculate the momentum and energy transferred to the sample. Inverse geometry spectrometers are also possible. In this case, the final position and velocity are fixed, and the incident coordinates varied.

Additional recommended knowledge

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Recognize and detect the effects of electrostatic charges on your balance

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Time-of-flight scattering can be performed at either a research reactor or a spallation source.

Soon to be time-of-flight spectrometers at spallation sources:

• ARCS , CNCS, and SEQUOIA at the Spallation Neutron Source
• MERLIN and LET at the ISIS neutron source

Existing time-of-flight spectrometers at research reactors:

• DCS and FCS at the NIST laboratories in Maryland.
• IN4, IN5, and IN6 at the Institut Laue-Langevin