Phonon dispersion relation of uranium nitrate above and below the Neel temperature

Neutron coherent inelastic scattering measurements have been made of the phonon dispersion relation of uranium nitride both above and below the Neel temperature T/sub N/ = 50 K. Within the precision of the measurements, about 1% in frequency and 10% in line width and in scattered neutron intensity, no significant changes in these phonon properties were observed as a function of temperature other than those arising from population factor changes and a small stiffening of the lattice as the temperature decreases. At 4.2 K, two acoustic and two optic branches have been determined for each of the [001], [110] and [111] directions. The optic mode measurements revealed (a) a 20% variation in frequency across the Brillouin zone and (b) an interesting disposition of the LO and TO modes, such that nu/sub LO/ > nu/sub TO/ along [001] and [110], while the reverse is true along the [111] directions. Within the experimental resolution, the LO and TO modes are degenerate near q = 0. We have been unable to obtain any satisfactory description of these results on the basis of conventional theoretical treatments (e.g. rigid-ion or shell models). Other possible interpretations of the results are discussed