The First Observation Of Pure Nuclear Bragg Reflection From Natural Iron Alpha-Fe2o3 By Synchrotron Mossbauer Diffraction

We have succeeded, for the first time, in observing the pure nuclear Bragg reflection from the natural iron alpha-Fe2O3 by using a Fe-57 synchrotron Mossbauer diffractometer at SPring-8 BL11XU. A well-resolved 111 reflection spectrum was obtained. The spectrum is composed of two identical subspectra, except for the center shifts, originating from the two crystal grains slightly misaligned in angle. The deviation of the center shift and the attenuation of the inner lines imply that the dynamical effect of the diffraction still survives partially, while the symmetric and sharp line shapes indicate the escape from the effect. Our success strongly suggests that now a crystal-site-selective spectrum can be measured even with a natural iron specimen.