Nuclear Bragg scattering of synchrotron radiation by 57Fe2O3: a novel method for monochromatization with ΔE/E = 10-12

The monochromatization of white synchrotron radiation of kilovolt energies to bandwidths of 10-6 to 10-8 eV will open up new fields of research with important applications in diverse areas of chemistry, physics, and the material sciences. These will be based on the unique sensitivity and specificity of nuclear resonance techniques. Nuclear Bragg scattering of synchrotron radiation from enriched α-57Fe2O3 has been observed at the BNL National Synchrotron Light Source for the first time without need for delayed coincidence techniques. Experimental details will be presented and applications of this new technique will be discussed. A particularly interesting one is the development of filtered synchrotron beams for excitation of Moessbauer nuclei for which there are no convenient radioactive progenitor nuclei available in nature