  KH2PO4 (KDP) belongs to the class of hydrogen-bonded ferroelectrics, whose
paraelectric to ferroelectric phase transition is driven by the ordering of the
protons in the hydrogen bonds. We demonstrate that forbidden reflections of
KDP, when measured at an x-ray absorption edge, are highly sensitive to the
asymmetry of proton configurations. The change of average symmetry caused by
the "freezing" of the protons during the phase transition is clearly evidenced.
In the paraelectric phase, we identify in the resonant spectra of the forbidden
reflections a contribution related to the transient proton configurations in
the hydrogen bonds, which violates the high average symmetry of the sites of
the resonant atoms. The analysis of the temperature dependence reveals a change
of relative probabilities of the different proton configurations. They follow
the Arrhenius law, and the activation energies of polar and Slater
configurations are 18.6 and 7.3 meV, respectively.
