Diffraction limit of the theory of multiple small-angle neutron scattering by a dense system of scatterers

Multiple small-angle neutron scattering by a high-density system of inhomogeneities has been considered. A combined approach to the analysis of multiple small-angle neutron scattering has been proposed on the basis of the synthesis of the Zernike–Prince and Moliére formulas. This approach has been compared to the existing multiple small-angle neutron scattering theory based on the eikonal approximation. This comparison has shown that the results in the diffraction limit coincide, whereas differences exist in the refraction limit because the latter theory includes correlations between successive scattering events. It has been shown analytically that the existence of correlations in the spatial position of scatterers results in an increase in the number of unscattered neutrons. Thus, the narrowing of spectra of multiple small-angle neutron scattering observed experimentally and in numerical simulation has been explained.