Summary
The Mössbauer effect is well interpreted and understood in an ideal, infinitely stiff (mathematical) lattice. However we argue that the electrostatic forces that are usually considered in solid-state physics are not adequate to support such a «stiffness». This difficulty is seen to been surmounted by a «superradiant» behaviour of the plasma of nuclei of a crystal.
References
R. L. Mössbauer:Z. Phys.,151, 124 (1958).
For a nice early presentation of the Mössbauer phenomenology, together with a collection of the original papers, consultH. Frauenfelder,The Mössbauer Effect (W. A. Benjamin, Inc., New York, N.Y., 1962).
W. E. Lamb jr:Phys. Rev.,55, 190 (1939).
R. H. Dicke:Phys. Rev.,89, 472 (1953).
W. M. Visscher:Ann. Phys.,9, 194 (1960).
H. J. Lipkin:Ann. Phys.,9, 332 (1960).
This notion is highly familiar in particle physics where it forms the basis for the applicability of perturbation theory at short space-time distances.
M. Fleischmann, M. Hawkins andS. Pons:J. Electroanal. Chem.,261, 301 (1989).
W. A. Harrsion:Solid State Theory (McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, N.Y., 1970).
G. Preparata:Phys. Rev. A,38, 233 (1988);E. Del Giudice, G. Preparata andG. Vitiello:Phys. Rev. Lett.,61, 1085 (1988);E. Del Giudice, M. Giuffrida, R. Mele andG. Preparata:Superradiance and superfluidity in 4He, preprint MITH 89/18 (1989).
G. Preparata:Quantum field theory of superradiance, inProblems of Fundamental Modern Physics, edited byR. Cherubini, P. Dal Piaz andB. Minetti (World Scientific, 1990).
R. V. Pound andG. A. Rebka Jr.:Phys. Rev. Lett.,4, 337 (1960).
P. P. Craig, D. E. Nagle andD. R. F. Cochran:Phys. Rev. Lett.,4, 561 (1960) estimate that at least 2·109 nuclei (i.e. a domain of the size of 0.4μm) must take up the recoil in a ZnO crystal.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bressani, T., Del Giudice, E. & Preparata, G. What makes a crystal «stiff» enough for the Mössbauer effect?. Il Nuovo Cimento D 14, 345–349 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02457393
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02457393