Gamma holography from multiple scattering

Abstract

Since the introduction of heterodyne methods for synchrotron radiation (Cousesement et al. in Phys. Rev. B 54:16003, 1996; Callens et al. in Phys. Rev. 67:104423, 2003) one observes interferences between two scattering amplitudes; the scattering amplitude of resonant nuclei in a reference sample and the scattering amplitude of nuclei in the sample under investigation. Theses interferences can easily been observed as resonances in velocity spectra when one uses a time integrated method. They can also been observed as quantum beats, when one would use the time differential method. For both methods it is important that one uses a reference sample and therefore both methods disserved the name “heterodyne methods.” As theses interferences are a product of two scattering amplitudes, the amplitude of a wave scattered form the investigated sample can be known with its phase. But it is assumed that the reference wave is known in advance by a proper choice of the reference sample. At first sight it is very likely that multiple scattering would add more complexity but in this paper it is claimed that on the contrary it provide a bonus, especially for single crystals. It provokes only a line broadening and a line shift of the resonances in the velocity spectra (or a change in the damping and frequency of the quantum beats when the time spectra are registered). Moreover these changes in the line shapes can easily be measured and they provide all the information needed to reconstruct a 3-D picture of the atomic arrangement of resonant nuclei and moreover they distinguish between different hyperfine sites. The method may be more practical for measurements on synchrotron radiation but it does also apply to velocity spectra obtained from resonant scattering with strong sources. The use of radioactive sources suffer from the disadvantage of poorer statistics or much longer accumulation times but they enjoy the advantage to be table-top and at-home experiments. As strong sources are now commercially available this possibility to measure not only the hyperfine fields but also the corresponding crystal structure could give a renewed impetus to the investigations with Moessbauer spectrometry, with “at home and table top” instrumentation.