Mossbauer spectroscopy (MS) is a viable non-contact'' technique applicable to high-pressure, diamond anvil cells (DAC) with samples containing a wide variety of the elements suitable for MS. The convenience and simplicity of diamond anvil cells as a means to obtain static high pressures even into the megabar regime has resulted in a renewed interest in pressure as a complement to the usual physical measurements. However, the required small sample size and the difficulty of communicating with the sample leave only x-ray and optical spectroscopy as the readily available tools. Mossbauer spectroscopy which involves recoil-free, low-energy {gamma} rays, provides a powerful additional technique to study a myriad of physical properties in a DAC. MS concerns a particular isotope and can provide local information on phase changes and hysteresis, isomer shifts, valence, bonding, magnetic and quadrupolar interactions, lattice dynamics, and multiple sites. The Mossbauer effect has been seen in about a hundred isotopic transitions in about forty different elements; many are suitable for DAC-MS, most notably {sup 57}Fe, {sup 119}Sn, {sup 121}Sb, {sup 125}Te, {sup 129}I, {sup 149}Sn, {sup 151}Eu, {sup 161}Dy, {sup 1976}Au, and {sup 237}Np. Since the information available from MS is obtained from analyzing the precise energy profile of …

Mossbauer spectroscopy (MS) is a viable ``non-contact`` technique applicable to high-pressure, diamond anvil cells (DAC) with samples containing a wide variety of the elements suitable for MS. The convenience and simplicity of diamond anvil cells as a means to obtain static high pressures even into the megabar regime has resulted in a renewed interest in pressure as a complement to the usual physical measurements. However, the required small sample size and the difficulty of communicating with the sample leave only x-ray and optical spectroscopy as the readily available tools. Mossbauer spectroscopy which involves recoil-free, low-energy {gamma} rays, provides a powerful additional technique to study a myriad of physical properties in a DAC. MS concerns a particular isotope and can provide local information on phase changes and hysteresis, isomer shifts, valence, bonding, magnetic and quadrupolar interactions, lattice dynamics, and multiple sites. The Mossbauer effect has been seen in about a hundred isotopic transitions in about forty different elements; many are suitable for DAC-MS, most notably {sup 57}Fe, {sup 119}Sn, {sup 121}Sb, {sup 125}Te, {sup 129}I, {sup 149}Sn, {sup 151}Eu, {sup 161}Dy, {sup 1976}Au, and {sup 237}Np. Since the information available from MS is obtained from analyzing the precise energy profile of …