Impact of anisotropic atomic motions in proteins on powder-averaged incoherent neutron scattering intensities

Abstract

This paper addresses the question to which extent anisotropic atomic motions in proteins impact angular-averaged incoherent neutron scattering intensities, which are typically recorded for powder samples. For this purpose, the relevant correlation functions are represented as multipole series in which each term corresponds to a different degree of intrinsic motional anisotropy. The approach is illustrated by a simple analytical model and by a simulation-based example for lysozyme, considering in both cases the elastic incoherent structure factor. The second example shows that the motional anisotropy of the protein atoms is considerable and contributes significantly to the scattering intensity.