Liquid Structure Factor Determination by Neutron Scattering — Some Dangers of Maximum Entropy

Abstract

This paper is a tutorial account of how the maximum entropy method has been applied to the determination of pair correlation functions of liquids and amorphous materials using neutron scattering. This is an example where care needs to be taken in the definition of the entropy, in the inclusion of prior information and in the stopping criterion. It is easy to obtain results that are misleading or manifestly wrong and these dangers are particularly stressed. Nevertheless when used with understanding the method is a very satisfactory approach to this unstable inverse problem.