Obtaining diffuse scattering patterns from computer simulations - a retrospective

The paper describes how the calculation of diffuse scattering from atomistic model crystals has developed over the last approximately 50 years. Not only has the quality of observed diffuse X-ray scattering data improved immensely with the advent of electronic area detectors and synchrotron radiation but the enormous increase in computer power has enabled patterns, of comparable quality to the observations, to be calculated from a Monte Carlo model.

On the use of molecular dynamics simulation to calculate X-ray thermal diffuse scattering from molecular crystals

The use of molecular dynamics simulations to calculate the thermal diffuse scattering from X-ray diffraction experiments on molecular crystals is described, using the crystal structure of aspirin form I as an example system. Parameter settings that do not affect the actual simulation are varied in order to examine the effect on the final calculated diffraction pattern, and thus roughly determine a range for general settings that might be used in further experiments targeted at tailoring parameters associated with the functional forms for dispersion interaction terms commonly used in molecular simulation force fields. The proposed method is compared with that of the more widely accepted Monte Carlo technique, and possible advantages and drawbacks for the use of either method are discussed.