Mössbauer Spectroscopy and the Electronic Structure of Matter

Abstract

Theory of the hyperfine interactions, which is essential in understanding and analyzing Mössbauer spectrum, is reviewed. The widely accepted theoretical model of the hyperfine interactions is explained together with first-principles approaches to calculating them, followed by detailed description of the isomer-shift, hyperfine field and electric field-gradient. As a related topic, the electronic structure of YbAlB₄ is discussed from the viewpoint of the valency and its relation to the isomer shifts, which may be measured through nuclear resonant forward scattering Mössbauer spectrometry.