August 2025

Journal

15 Years of Spin-Echo Spectroscopy at SNS-NSE: Looking Back and Looking Forward

By:
Zolnierczuk, Piotr A; Stingaciu, Laura R; Holderer, Olaf; Monkenbusch, Michael
Journal Name:
iScience
Page Number:
113017
Volume:
28
Issue Number:
8
Publication Date:
August 4, 2025
View DOI Listing:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.113017

Abstract

High-resolution neutron spin echo (NSE) spectroscopy offers unique insights into the mobility of molecular (sub)structures excited by thermal fluctuations (i.e., Brownian motion) of “soft matter” as polymers in solution and in the melt, in biological matter (e.g., protein motions), membranes, and glasses. The ability to tag substructures using H, D contrast variation to resolve the relevant timescales of dynamics on selected molecular items in liquids, soft matter, and melts is a significant advantage of NSE. Also slow magnetic fluctuations on molecular length scales in the range of nanoseconds, e.g., in spin glasses or topological spin structures, can be accessed. This paper reviews the highlights and peculiarities of the SNS-NSE, based at the pulsed neutron source SNS, during its first 1.5 decades of operation. An outlook and perspectives of research in the domain of high-resolution spectroscopy is given.