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Quantitative evaluation of statistical errors in small‐angle X‐ray scattering measurements
Author(s) -
Sedlak Steffen M.,
Bruetzel Linda K.,
Lipfert Jan
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of applied crystallography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.429
H-Index - 162
ISSN - 1600-5767
DOI - 10.1107/s1600576717003077
Subject(s) - small angle scattering , scattering , optics , small angle x ray scattering , physics , materials science , computational physics
A new model is proposed for the measurement errors incurred in typical small‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS) experiments, which takes into account the setup geometry and physics of the measurement process. The model accurately captures the experimentally determined errors from a large range of synchrotron and in‐house anode‐based measurements. Its most general formulation gives for the variance of the buffer‐subtracted SAXS intensity σ 2 ( q ) = [ I ( q ) + const.]/( kq ), where I ( q ) is the scattering intensity as a function of the momentum transfer q ; k and const. are fitting parameters that are characteristic of the experimental setup. The model gives a concrete procedure for calculating realistic measurement errors for simulated SAXS profiles. In addition, the results provide guidelines for optimizing SAXS measurements, which are in line with established procedures for SAXS experiments, and enable a quantitative evaluation of measurement errors.