Phonon wings in inelastic neutron scattering spectroscopy: The harmonic approximation.

The inelastic neutron scattering (INS) spectra of some ammonium halides and ammonium nitrate are analyzed in terms of the internal vibrations of the NH+4 ion convoluted with multiphonon lattice modes up to the eighth term. Due to the low mass of this ion, most of the intensity of the internal-mode region of the INS spectra is in the ‘‘phonon wings,’’ differences between the salts in this spectral region being mainly due to differences in their lattice-mode spectra. Refinement of the lattice Debye–Waller factor is included in the profile refinement of interatomic force constants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]