LiquidDiffract: software for liquid total scattering analysis

Abstract

LiquidDiffract is an open source, Python-based graphical application for X-ray total scattering analysis of liquids and disordered solids. The software implements procedures to obtain information on macroscopic bulk properties and local atomic-scale structure of monatomic or polyatomic samples from X-ray total scattering data. LiquidDiffract provides an easy to use interface with tools to perform background subtraction; calculation, normalisation, and refinement of the reciprocal-space structure factor and real-space correlation functions; and the extraction of structural information such as bond lengths, coordination number, and bulk density. The software is well suited to investigations of amorphous materials at extreme conditions, such as studies of high-pressure melt structure, polyamorphic phase transitions, and liquid equations of state. The open-source distribution and graphical interface will be of particular benefit to researchers who are new to the field. In this article we describe the distribution, system requirements, and installation of LiquidDiffract, and detail the data processing workflow and underlying numerical methods.