Colloquium: Dr. Esen Alp, Argonne National Laboratory

It’s been almost 45 years since the idea of using a synchrotron source to excite the Mossbauer isotopes was proposed. Since then significant progress has been made in developing the methodology, instrumentation and data analysis. Application areas are extended into wide range of scientific disciplines. In this talk, I will review the key issues addressed by nuclear resonant scattering methods in geophysics and geochemistry such as velocity of sound of earth-bound minerals, iron valence and isotope fractionation in core-mantle boundary under high pressure. Similarly, determination of possible pathways related to the functions of iron-containing biological systems or catalysts will be discussed. The extension of the method to more than a dozen isotopes provides a wide-ranging tool to study the interplay between magnetism and superconductivity in new quantum materials like pnictides. This presentation will review modern applications, and provide a perspective view.