Structure factor

The structure factor, $S(k)$, for a monatomic system is defined by:

$S(k)=1+{\frac {4\pi \rho }{k}}\int _{0}^{\infty }(g_{2}(r)-1)r\sin(kr)~dr$

where $k$ is the scattering wave-vector modulus

$k={\frac {4\pi }{\lambda \sin \left({\frac {\theta }{2}}\right)}}$

The structure factor is basically a Fourier transform of the pair distribution function ${\rm {g}}(r)$.

At zero wavenumber, i.e. $|k|=0$,

$S(0)=k_{B}T\left.{\frac {\partial \rho }{\partial p}}\right\vert _{T}$

References

1. A. Filipponi, "The radial distribution function probed by X-ray absorption spectroscopy", J. Phys.: Condens. Matter, 6 pp. 8415-8427 (1994)