Derivation and experimental verification of the normalized resolution function for inelastic neutron scattering

Based upon the work of Cooper & Nathans, an expression for the normalized resolution function of a triple-axis neutron spectrometer is derived and tested experimentally. The formalism is extended to show the explicit dependence of the integrated intensity of a sharp excitation spectrum on all of the relevant instrumental parameters. Extensive measurements of the integrated intensities of phonons in copper have been carried out for a wide range of all adjustable parameters. The experimentally determined intensities are found to be in good agreement with the calculated values.