On neutron depolarization in magnetized media

The neutron depolarization in magnetized samples is considered as a result of scattering in the case of arbitrary orientations between the incident polariztion, the sample field and the direction of polarization analysis. It is shown that the depolarization is determined by the small-angle magnetic scattering within the angular beam width and by an additional contribution arising from the spin-dependent scattering outside the passing beam. The latter follows from the consideration of the interference between the scattered and the transmitted beams. Special attention is paid to the analysis of several measuring regimes for the depolarization and its dependence on neutron wavelength. The depolarization in multidomain ferromagnets is considered.