DEEP-INELASTIC NEUTRON-SCATTERING OFF D-2 AND H-2 AND MOMENTUM DISTRIBUTIONS OF NUCLEI IN DIATOMIC-MOLECULES

A quantum-mechanical calculation for the description of neutron scattering at very high momentum transfer off both homonuclear and heteronuclear diatomic molecules at T=0 K in terms of the nuclear momentum distribution, n(k), of the nuclei in these molecules is proposed. The results of this calculation compare well with neutron-scattering measurements on liquid D2 at T=20 K in the momentum transfer range 55<q<80 A-1 and with previous measurements on solid H2 at T=4 K and liquid H2 at T=20 K at high momentum transfer (q∼100 A-1), showing that high-energy neutrons can be a sensitive probe to investigate the momentum distribution of the nuclei in these molecules. © 1995 The American Physical Society.