A Single-Crystal Mössbauer Study of Spin Reorientations in the Multi-Ferroic HoFeO3

⁵⁷
Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy on single crystal slices has been used to study the spin reorientation transition that occurs in HoFeO
₃
for 35 K ≤ T ≤ 60 K. We also prepared a powder sample for comparison and confirmed that the results were consistent between the two data sets. By using thin polished slices cut perpendicular to the three orthorhombic axes we have been able to follow a-axis → c-axis reorientation in detail and confirm that moments also tip toward the b-axis by ~20° before returning closer to the ac-plane. We also show that the moments are never fully parallel or perpendicular to any of the three orthorhombic axes; a consequence of the mixed ferro-/antiferro-magnetic structure adopted by HoFeO
₃
.