Directional lithium hydride Compton profiles of 0.1% statistical accuracy

The present status and accuracy of determining the electron momentum density from experimental Compton profiles is reviewed. The new spectrometers operating at third‐generation synchrotron radiation sources have made possible measurements with 0.1% statistical accuracy at the Compton peak. A comparable accuracy of the Compton profiles is achieved only after careful corrections for departures from the impulse approximation, effects of multiple scattering, and variations in the analyser response function. Detailed descriptions are given of the correction procedures applied to the data collected by the Johann‐type scanning spectrometer that is one of the Compton spectrometers in use at the ESRF. Special attention is paid to the calculation and correction of the glitches that are caused by extra reflections of the analyser crystal. The Fourier transform of the Compton profile, the reciprocal form factor, is calculated, and its use in data treatment and presentation is discussed.