Electrostatic neutron-electron scattering

Abstract

We demonstrate that the electrostatic neutron-electron interaction, formed by the Schwinger and Foldy terms, leads to a cross-section in which the response function is the inverse dielectric function observed in X-ray scattering and electron loss experiments. The experimental conditions for scattering off the acoustic plasmon in metals are unobtainable at present and, at large scattering wave vectors, where the scattered intensity is proportional to the Compton profile, scattering is too weak to be useful. For intermediate scattering vectors, outside the first Brillouin zone, experimental restrictions are still severe although the experiment is feasible but we do not have relevant calculations of the dielectric function, for band structure models, from which to estimate the cross-section. Calculations available for the first Brillouin zone lead us to expect a significant and highly structured response.