Resonant Photoelectron Diffraction with circularly polarized light

TL;DR

This paper explores how resonant angle scanned x-ray photoelectron diffraction with circularly polarized light can reveal atomic and magnetic surface structures, highlighting differences in electron emission patterns for magnetized nickel.

Contribution

It demonstrates the use of circularly polarized light in RXPD to distinguish magnetic and atomic structures via dichroic signatures in Auger electrons.

Findings

Dichroic signatures can be extracted from resonant L2 excitation in magnetized nickel.

L2MM and L3MM Auger electrons show different angular momentum effects.

Distinct rotation angles in emission patterns reveal electron source wave differences.

Abstract

Resonant angle scanned x-ray photoelectron diffraction (RXPD) allows the determination of the atomic and magnetic structure of surfaces and interfaces. For the case of magnetized nickel the resonant L2 excitation with circularly polarized light yields electrons with a dichroic signature from which the dipolar part may be retrieved. The corresponding L2MM and L3MM Auger electrons carry different angular momenta since their source waves rotate the dichroic dipole in the electron emission patterns by distinct angles.