The main advantages of neutrons

The main properties of the neutron that are exploited in scattering studies can be
summarized as follows:
- The energy of thermal neutron is similar to the energies of atomic motions. A wide
range of energy scales may be probed, from the nano-electron volt energies associated
with polymer reptation, through molecular vibrations and lattice modes, to electron
volt transitions within the electronic structure of materials.
- The wavelengths of thermal neutrons are similar to atomic spacing, providing
structural information over ten orders of magnitude in scale (10
-5
to 10
5
!.
"easurements are thus possible over distance scales ranging from that of the wave
function of the hydrogen atom to those of macromolecules.
- #eutrons interact via the strong interaction and hence see nuclei, rather than the
diffuse electron cloud seen by $-rays. This has ma%or advantages, such as to be able to
see light atoms (e.g. hydrogen! in the presence of heavier ones, and to distinguish
neighbouring elements more easily. The fact that the scattering cross section of an
atom generally varies between isotopes of the same element allows us to e&ploit
isotopic substitution methods to yield structural and dynamical information in even
greater detail. 't also facilitates the use of contrast variation, which enables us to
contrast out parts of a comple& system, for e&ample the nuclei acid or the protein
component of a virus.
- The neutron(s magnetic moment is ideally suited to the study of microscopic magnetic
structures and magnetic fluctuations that underpin macroscopic magnetic phenomena
in materials.
- #eutrons only perturb the e&perimental system wea)ly and its interaction with a
nucleus has a simple form. This greatly aids interpretation and often means that
neutron scattering provides the most reliable scientific results in areas as diverse as the
structure of water or the strain mismatch in superalloys used in turbine blades.
- #eutrons are non-destructive, even to comple&, delicate biological materials.
- #eutrons are highly penetrating, allowing the non-destructive investigation of the
interior of materials. This ma)es them a genuine microscopic bul) probe, routinely
used in comple& environments such as furnaces, cryostats and pressure cells, and
enables the study of bul) processes under realistic conditions.
Magnetic Structures * Almost everything we )now about
magnetic structure * from the early demonstration of anti-
ferromagnetism in simple systems (+hull, #obel pri,e 1--.!, to the
comple& magnetic structures being developed by hard magnets *
has come from e&periments with neutrons. +imilarly, polari,ed
neutron reflectometry provides uni/ue access to the surface and
interface magnetism in thin films and multilayers.
Elementary Excitations and Phase Transitions * +imilarly,
nearly all our )nowledge of elementary e&citations such as phonons
or magnons in crystalline solids, and their relationships to 0nd order
phase transitions, stems from inelastic neutron scattering
(1roc)house, #obel pri,e 1--.!.
Polymer Conformation and Dynamics * #eutrons have provided
the most direct information on polymer conformation and the
associated scaling laws, and polymer dynamics such as reptation,
corroborating the #obel pri,e winning theoretical concepts of 2lory
(1-3.! and 4e5ennes (1--1!.
Structure and Dynamics of i!uids * #eutron have provided
much of our basic understanding of the structure and dynamics of
li/uids. The results have had a ma%or influence on theoretical
developments such as memory function formalism, or mode
coupling theory for description of the glass transition, and the
development of computer simulation techni/ues now used widely
from fundamental physics and chemistry to biology.
Proton Positions and Motions in "iomolecules * #eutrons have
determined water organi,ation in proteins and other biological
systems and function critical hydrogen positions in en,ymes.
'nelastic neutron scattering led to a characteri,ation of large
amplitude internal motions in small proteins, and of a dynamical
transition that is correlated with function. #eutron studies on lipid
membranes have provided the basis for our present view of the
bilayer as a dynamically rough and e&tremely soft surface.
Crystal Structures and Magnetism of #igh Temperature
Superconductors * #eutrons have provided the definitive crystal
structures of high temperature superconductors, which serve as the
basis for all considerations of the mechanism of superconductivity
and have led to production of better /uality materials. #eutron
spectroscopy has provided uni/ue information on the nature of
magnetism in high temperature superconductors, on the interplay
between magnetic fluctuations and superconductivity and on the role of the lattice dynamics.
Concepts of Statistical Physics * #eutrons have made ma%or
contributions to our understanding of model systems for statistical
physics in one, two and three dimensions, including verification of
the 6aldane con%ecture, determination of the properties of the
6aldane gap, and the discovery of slitions as the characteristic
elementary e&citation of strongly non-linear magnetic systems.
Strain in engineering Materials * #eutron strain measurement on
engineering materials has mad an important contribution to our
)nowledge of residual stresses. These stresses are essential to
ma)ing reliable estimates of component life times. 'mportant wor)
has been carried out on welded structures, in particular the method
is accelerating the introduction of new friction based welding
techni/ues. 7ften post weld heat treatment is needed to reduce
potentially life time threatening residual stresses8 neutron diffraction has improved their
definition.
Electro$wea% &nteraction * #eutron decay e&periments made
essential contributions to the understanding of the 9wea)
interaction: and the unification of the electromagnetics and wea)
interaction to the 9electro-wea) interaction:. ;arity
nonconservation has been shown for the neutron decay, and neutron
decay data also contributed to fi&ing the number of lepton families
as three.
'uantization of (eutron )a*es on the +ield of ,ra*ity * 2our
hundred years after 5alilei neutron physicists observed the
/uanti,ation of thermal neutrons due to confinement.
Addition to Neutron Diffraction
$-rays are nearly blind to hydrogen< Table indicates that elastic $-ray scattering is
proportional to =
0
or =
>
. 6ydrogen thus scatters only very wea)ly and is swamped by the
heavier atoms, ?, #, and 7. 6owever, hydrogen atoms play important roles in biomolecules
and )nowledge of their positions is desirable. 2ortunately, there is a tool that allows the
observation of 6 and thus is complementary to $-ray diffraction, namely neutron diffraction.
#eutrons scatter mainly from nuclei, not from the atomic shell, and the cross section depends
on nuclear properties, not on =
0
.
#eutron diffraction has become a useful tool because intense neutron beams are available
from reactors. These neutrons are in thermal e/uilibrium with the moderator and their
spectrum is appro&imately "a&wellian, with the temperature of the moderator. At >00@, the
mean energy is about 0,005 eA and the wavelength 1,B C.
Neutron Scattering
The geometrical aspects of $-ray and neutron diffraction are the same, but the interaction
between the pro%ectile and the scatterer is different. ;hotons interact predominantly with the
atomic electrons and nuclear scattering can be neglected in diffraction wor). (An e&ception is
the method proposed by "Dssbauer!. #eutrons interact with the nucleus via the nuclear force
and with the magnetic moment of unpaired electrons via the electromagnetic one. The
magnetic interaction permits the investigation of magnetic materials8 we will not consider it
here and restrict the treatment to the nuclear force case. A complete theory, starting from the
properties of the nucleon-nucleon force, is too complicated. 2ollowing 2ermi, a pseudo-
potential, ( ) r V , is introduced EBF,
( ) ( ) r b
m
r V

0
0
= (1!
6ere, ( ) r is the 4irac delta function and b the scattering length which has the dimensions of
length E-F. 'f a potential is strongly enough attractive to produce a bound state, b is positive. 'f
the potential is only wea)ly attractive, b is negative. 'f the potential is repulsive, b is again
positive.
G/uation (1! applies to the scattering of slow neutrons from a single nucleus. The cross
section for the scattering can be obtained by inserting ( ) r V into the 1orn appro&imation with
the result
b f =
(0!
and
0
b
d
d
=

(>!
The scattering from a crystal with one atom per unit cell is described by a slight
generali,ation of G/.(1!. The pseudopotential becomes the sum of the individual contributions
from the nuclei at the positions
i r
. The computation gives the scattering amplitude from one
nucleus as

r q i
b e&p
(.!
?omparison shows that neutron and $-ray diffraction are similar, the atomic form factor f
i
is
replaced by the scattering length b, for neutrons<
( ) ( ) neutrons b rays X f
(5!
'f there are a number of nuclei in each unit cell, the scattering amplitude becomes
( )

=
s
s s
r q i
b q F

e&p
(H!
2ollowing the arguments then yields the final result
( )
inch
r
dr
d
q F
r q f ib
d
d

0
0
e&p

(3!
The first term in G/.(3! describes coherent scattering, in which the contributions from the
various nuclei interfere. This term yields the important information. The second term is
isotropic and describes incoherent scattering8 it produces the undesirable bac)ground.
Comparison Neutron X-rays
The strengths and wea)nesses of $-ray and neutron diffraction become obvious when neutron
and $-ray scattering amplitudes are compared<
Table (1! shows that the variation of the coherent cross section or the scattering length for
neutrons with = is not monotonic and is smaller than the corresponding variation for f. 't is
therefore to see hydrogen or deuterium with neutrons.
6ydrogen has the advantage that its scattering length is negative8 it gives more contrast to
other atoms. 't has the disadvantage that the incoherent cross section, which gives rise to
undersirable bac)ground, is very large. 4epending on the problem, it is therefore often
convenient to deuterate a crystal.
Experimental
As neutron source, a nuclear reactor is used. The average energy of the neutrons depends on
the temperature of the moderator in which the fast neutrons of the reactor is slowed down.
Three spectra from the high-flu& reactor at the Iaue-Iangevin reactor in 5renoble, 2rance,
are shown in fig. The reactor generates a total power 53"J and a ma&imum flu& of 1,0.10
15

thermal neutrons per cm
0
sec. The cold moderator consists of a graphite bloc) at 0000@. The
spectra in the figure indicate that neutrons of all wavelengths of interest for biomolecular
research can be produced. A typical arrangement is shown in fig.15.0.
#eutrons from the moderator are collimated and they are made 9monochromatic: by
diffraction from a crystal, for instance germanium. The neutrons of the desired energy are
selected through proper shielding and then diffracted by the crystal under study. The
diffracted neutrons are detected, for instance by 12
>
counters, made with
10
1. +ince for
biomolecules a large number of reflections have to be studied (K10
.
!, one counter is very time
consuming. 7ne system uses 100 discrete 12
>
counters, mounted on the inside of a sphere of
1,3m diameter, and computer controlled. A bent monochromator crystal focuses a number of
wavelengths onto the crystal, with different wavelengths arriving from different directions,
giving rise to many and well resolved reflections. ;osition sensitive detectors EHF also speed
up data collection. "ulti-wire gas counters, for instance, with detection of differential time
delay or charge division, permit the location of the counting event along a single wire or wire
grid.
7nce the positions and intensities of the reflections have been measured, the data are
evaluated much the same way as in the $-ray case. 't may be possible to get the phase
information directly in
11>
?d or
1.-
+m E11F or by using polari,ed neutrons E10F. Lsually,
however, the phases are ta)en from previous $-ray wor). Actually, the evaluation or neutron
diffraction data on proteins is based on a good $-ray model of the main protein s)eleton and
neutron diffraction yields features that are difficult or impossible to study with $-rays. The
two techni/ues are complementary.
Examples
Je do not discuss the structural information that has already been obtained by neutron
diffraction, but only present three e&amples that show the possibilities. 2igure 15.> displays a
cut through myoblogin as observed by $-rays and by neutrons. 2igure 15.. shows the
environment of the heme group in "b?7 E1>F and 2ig 15.5 presents a tyrosine ring in trypsin
EHF.
Jhile the information obtained by neutron diffraction is important it is li)ely that inelastic
neutron scattering will yield even more information. Je return to this use of neutrons later.