Neutron scattering investigations of the boson peak

Abstract

Inelastic neutron scattering is not only capable of determining a generalized vibrational density of states around the boson peak of a glass, but can also be used to get information on the eigenvectors. The eigenvectors determine the dynamic structure factor, which is $Q^{2}S(Q)$ ($Q$ wavevector) for long wavelength sound waves. This enables the determination of the sound wave fraction below and at the boson peak, done for SiO${}_2$, B${}_2$O${}_3$, polybutadiene and amorphous germanium. The temperature dependence of the boson peak in silica and glycerol is shown. X-ray Brillouin scattering data show that the damping of the longitudinal sound waves in silica and glycerol follows the soft potential model ${\omega }^4$ prediction in the limit of low frequency.

6 pages, 4 figures, 1 table