DOE OSTI · 3367052
Desmearing Bonse–Hart USANS data using Bayesian Gaussian process regression
Abstract
Ultra-small-angle neutron scattering (USANS) enables access to micrometer-scale structures but is intrinsically affected by strong, anisotropic resolution smearing arising from slit-geometry optics. As a result, recovery of the intrinsic scattering intensity constitutes an ill-posed inverse problem, and commonly used iterative desmearing methods lack rigorous uncertainty quantification. We present a Bayesian desmearing framework for slit-geometry USANS based on Gaussian process regression. In this approach, the scattering intensity is modeled as a smooth random function, and the instrumental point spread function is incorporated explicitly as a forward operator. The resulting formulation yields a closed-form maximum a posteriori solution with well-defined credibility intervals. Computational benchmarks and experimental validation using combined USANS and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) measurements demonstrate that the framework enables stable desmearing, suppresses experimental noise, and preserves physically meaningful structural features under realistic conditions.
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Tung, Chi-Huan [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)] (ORCID:0000000221972074), Huang, Guan-Rong [National Tsing Hua Univ., Hsinchu (Taiwan)] (ORCID:0000000163939574), Shang, Yingrui [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)] (ORCID:0000000301743992), Rother, Gernot [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)] (ORCID:0000000349216294), Do, Changwoo [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)] (ORCID:0000000183588417), Wang, Yangyang [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS)] (ORCID:0000000170429804), Carrillo, Jan-Michael [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS)] (ORCID:000000018774697X), Semnani, Shabnam J. [Univ. of California, San Diego, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000166356905), Zhang, Tao [Univ. of Texas, Arlington, TX (United States)], Shinohara, Yuya [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)] (ORCID:000000018284751X), Chen, Wei-Ren [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)] (ORCID:0000000251920777). 2026-05-22. Desmearing Bonse–Hart USANS data using Bayesian Gaussian process regression. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0320684
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