Well, the Rietveld Mailing list may not be really appropriate for
a discussion on ab initio structure determination from powder data.
I think yes because the Rietveld method is always the last step and
is sometimes involved in the extracting structure factor step (by using
the Rietveld decomposition formula).
So here is the question. Should we continue to classify among "ab initio"
structure determinations those which are determined by methods using
known fragments and even whole molecules which are tested in various
orientations against data (Monte Carlo, Genetic Algorithm...) ? Most
chemists are even not interested in the crystal structure determination
when the molecule has been characterized by RMN : they consider that
they have yet "determined" the structure...
Armel
Trying to keep the fire alive.