Rayleigh scattering by energetic photons: Development of theory and current status

Circular Polarimetry of Hard X-rays with Rayleigh Scattering

We present a theoretical investigation of the elastic Rayleigh scattering of X-rays by atomic targets. Special attention is paid to the question of how the polarization of the scattered photons is affected if the incident light is itself polarized. In particular, we found that the circular polarization of the incoming X-rays may lead to a remarkable modification of the linear polarization of the scattered photons. Based on this ’circular-to-linear-polarization-transfer’ and on the fact that the linear polarization of X-rays can be conveniently observed by solid-state Compton detectors, we argue that Rayleigh scattering may be used as a tool for circular polarimetry of hard X-rays. To illustrate our proposal, we performed detailed calculations of 145 and 500 keV circularly polarized photons scattered by lead atoms. Based on these calculations, we found that the photon scattering under large angles with respect to the incident beam direction is most favorable for the circular polarimetry of hard X-rays. In particular, for 500 keV photon energy and scattering angles around 70 deg we found a remarkable modification of the linear polarization of scattered light for the case when the incident radiation is circularly polarized.

PDB2INS: bridging the gap between small-molecule and macromolecular refinement

The open-source Python program PDB2INS is designed to prepare a .ins file for refinement with SHELXL [Sheldrick (2015). Acta Cryst. C71, 3-8], taking atom coordinates and other information from a Protein Data Bank (PDB)-format file. If PDB2INS is provided with a four-character PDB code, both the PDB file and the accompanying mmCIF-format reflection data file (if available) are accessed via the internet from the PDB public archive [Read et al. (2011). Structure, 19, 1395-1412] or optionally from the PDB_REDO server [Joosten, Long, Murshudov & Perrakis (2014). IUCrJ, 1, 213-220]. The SHELX-format .ins (refinement instructions and atomic coordinates) and .hkl (reflection data) files can then be generated without further user intervention, appropriate restraints etc. being added automatically. PDB2INS was tested on the 23 974 X-ray structures deposited in the PDB between 2008 and 2018 that included reflection data to 1.7 Å or better resolution in a recognizable format. After creating the two input files for SHELXL without user intervention, ten cycles of conjugate-gradient least-squares refinement were performed. For 96% of these structures PDB2INS and SHELXL completed successfully without error messages.

New empirical equation for the atomic form factor function in the momentum transfer range, q=0-50 Å(-1) for the elements in the range 1 ≤ Z ≤ 30

The importance of Atomic Form Factors (f) is well-known to the scientific community. Tabulated values for f are mostly used in calculating cross-sections and Monte Carlo sampling for the coherent scattering of photons. The uses of these values are subjected to different approximations and interpolation techniques because the available data points for f in the literature for specified momentum-transfer-grids are very limited. In order to make it easier to accurately use the tabulated data, a mathematical expression for f functions would be a great achievement. Therefore, the current study was designed to suggest an empirical expression for the f functions. In the results, an empirical equation for Hubbell's tabulated data for f is created in the momentum transfer range, q = 0–50 Å⁻¹ for the elements in the range 1≤ Z ≤30. The number of applied parameters was seven. The fitting to f showed that the maximum deviation was within 3%, 4% and 5% for the element having, Z = 1–11, Z = 12–22 and Z = 23–30, respectively, while the average deviations were within 0.3–2.25% for all elements (i.e., Z = 1–30). The values generated by the analytical equation were used in the Monte Carlo code instead of Hubbell’s tabulated values. The statistical noise in the Probability Distribution Functions of coherently scattered photons was efficiently removed. Furthermore, it also reduced the dependence on different interpolation techniques and approximations, and on the use of large tabulated data for f with the specified elements.

Source of statistical noises in the Monte Carlo sampling techniques for coherently scattered photons

Detailed comparisons of the predictions of the Relativistic Form Factors (RFFs) and Modified Form Factors (MFFs) and their advantages and shortcomings in calculating elastic scattering cross sections can be found in the literature. However, the issues related to their implementation in the Monte Carlo (MC) sampling for coherently scattered photons is still under discussion. Secondly, the linear interpolation technique (LIT) is a popular method to draw the integrated values of squared RFFs/MFFs (i.e. A(Z, v(i)²)) over squared momentum transfer (v(i)² = v(1)²,......, v(59)²). In the current study, the role/issues of RFFs/MFFs and LIT in the MC sampling for the coherent scattering were analyzed. The results showed that the relative probability density curves sampled on the basis of MFFs are unable to reveal any extra scientific information as both the RFFs and MFFs produced the same MC sampled curves. Furthermore, no relationship was established between the multiple small peaks and irregular step shapes (i.e. statistical noise) in the PDFs and either RFFs or MFFs. In fact, the noise in the PDFs appeared due to the use of LIT. The density of the noise depends upon the interval length between two consecutive points in the input data table of A(Z, v(i)²) and has no scientific background. The probability density function curves became smoother as the interval lengths were decreased. In conclusion, these statistical noises can be efficiently removed by introducing more data points in the A(Z, v(i)²) data tables.