Enhancement and speedup in nuclear resonant diffraction

The interaction of Moessbauer radiation with the nuclei in a single crystal provides the unique possibility to enhance the coherent channel in nuclear resonance scattering by means of a properly phased excitation of the scattering centers. When a primary beam is incident in the exact Bragg direction, all nuclei are excited in phase. The resonance parameters of such a collective nuclear excitation of a perfect single crystal (γ-exciton) are entirely different from those of an individual nuclear excitation. In Bragg geometry diffraction, the resonance lines are shifted and broadened (enhancement effect), the lifetime of the collective excited state is shortened (speedup effect) and the reflectivity becomes total (suppression effect). Recent experiments are reviewed, where these effects were studied in the resonant diffraction of Moessbauer and of synchrotron radiation. (orig.)