Determination of the Nuclear Quadrupole Moment of57Fe

We determine the nuclear quadrupole moment $Q$ of the most important Mössbauer nucleus ${}^{57}\mathrm{Fe}$ by comparing experimental quadrupole splittings with calculated electric field gradients (EFG) for a large number of different Fe compounds. These ab initio calculations are based on the linearized-augmented plane-wave band structure method. From the slope of the linear correlation between theoretical EFGs and experimental quadrupole splittings a new value of $Q{(}^{57}\mathrm{Fe})=0.16\mathrm{b}$ is deduced, twice as large as previously suggested. Our results should also stimulate nuclear physicists to revise nuclear structure shell model calculations of $Q$.