Uniaxial polarization analysis of bulk ferromagnets: theory and first experimental results

Based on the continuum theory of micromagnetics, theoretical expressions for the polarization of the scattered neutron beam in uniaxial small-angle neutron scattering have been derived and their predictions tested by analyzing experimental data on a soft magnetic nanocrystalline alloy. The here-presented theoretical framework forms the basis for polarized real-space methods such as spin-echo small-angle neutron scattering, spin-echo modulated small-angle neutron scattering and polarized neutron dark-field contrast imaging.