Compton Spectroscopy and Chemical Bonding

Abstract

In this article we show with the help of two examples how Compton spectroscopy may be used to study the effect of chemical bonding in materials as diverse as a molecular crystal and a high temperature superconductor. Compton spectroscopy has a long history as an investigative method in condensed matter physics and in fact the realisation that the Compton profile is sensitive to the effects of chemical bonding dates back at least fifty years. In the seventies, through the efforts of Weyrich [1] and others [2,3], practical applications of this realisation were first achieved. We argue that such studies are more and more relevant thanks to the availability of synchrotron radiation and efficient computational tools.