Abstract

By extending the considerations of Maier-Leibnitz, the normalization of the resolution function is found to be the product of the volumes in reciprocal space of the incident and scattered beams. Each volume is defined by an integration in reciprocal space over the probability of finding a particular k, where k is the wave vector of the neutron. The resolution can be understood as a convolution of these two volumes. For three-axis spectrometers explicit expressions for these volumes are given. The knowledge of the normalization is necessary for numerical unfolding of experimental data. For two cases, which often occur in inelastic neutron scattering, it is possible to directly correct the experimental data without resorting to numerical unfolding. After applying these corrections the data represent the scattering law folded with a resolution function normalized to unity, i.e. the integral over the corrected data is the integral over the scattering law. It is shown that in this case, the unfolding of the corrected data turns out to be a one-dimensional problem.