Dynamic diffraction of thermal neutrons in crystals with continuous deformation field

Abstract

The purpose of the work is to consider the basics of the formation of a diffraction wave field of thermal neutrons in the case of Laue transmission geometry of a limited beam of neutrons in the crystal, taking into account the peculiarities of the interaction of thermal neutrons with a continuously and slowly changing deformation field of the crystal net. The conditions of both diffraction blurring and diffraction contraction (focusing) up to the practical restoration of the original shape of the packet will be studied. An integral form for determining the quasi-amplitudes of diffracted waves within the framework of the original spatially inhomogeneous beams is formulated, based on the constructed functions of the influence of a point source of thermal neutron waves for crystals with a continues deformation field. It has been shown that neutron focusing is effective, which is revealed by a smaller half-width of the focal spot, an increase in the resolving power of the energy spectrum and focusing efficiency.