Local magnetic structure determination using polarized neutron holography

A unique and important property of the neutron is that it possesses magnetic moment. This property is widely used for determination of magnetic structure of crystalline samples observing the magnetic components of the diffraction peaks. Investigations of diffraction patterns give information only about the averaged structure of a crystal but for discovering of local spin arrangement around a specific (e.g., impurity) nucleus remains still a challenging problem. Neutron holography is a useful tool to investigate the local structure around a specific nucleus embedded in a crystal lattice. The method has been successfully applied experimentally in several cases using non-magnetic short range interaction of the neutron and the nucleus. A mathematical model of the hologram using interaction between magnetic moment of the atom and the neutron spin for polarized neutron holography is provided. Validity of a polarized neutron holographic experiment is demonstrated by applying the proposed method on model systems.