Dynamics of Atomic Motions in Liquids and Cold Neutron Scattering

Abstract

The self-correlation function for the motion of an atom in a liquid has been constructed in a manner which simulates the behavior of this function between the two extreme cases, viz., that in a solid and that in a simple diffusive model. Using this function, the differential scattering cross section for cold neutrons has been calculated for liquid lead and compared with available experimental results. It appears that even in a simple liquid like lead the solidlike behavior of atomic motions persists for a considerable time.