First-principles calculations of spin and angle-resolved resonant photoemission spectra of Cr(110) surfaces at the 2$p$ - 3$d$ resonance

TL;DR

This paper develops a first-principles method to analyze spin and angle-resolved resonant photoemission spectra, revealing that spin polarization can occur independently of magnetic order, with implications for non-magnetic systems.

Contribution

It introduces a novel first-principles approach within multiple scattering theory to study spin-resolved photoemission in non-ferromagnetic systems, clarifying the origin of spin polarization.

Findings

Spin polarization occurs in Cr(110) surfaces under circularly polarized light.

Spin polarization is independent of local magnetic moments.

New effects predicted for paramagnetic phases with unpolarized light.

Abstract

A first principles approach for spin and angle resolved resonant photoemission is developed within multiple scattering theory and applied to a Cr(110) surface at the 2$p$-3$d$ resonance. The resonant photocurrent from this non ferromagnetic system is found to be strongly spin polarized by circularly polarized light, in agreement with experiments on antiferromagnetic and magnetically disordered systems. By comparing the antiferromagnetic and Pauli-paramagnetic phases of Cr, we explicitly show that the spin polarization of the photocurrent is independent of the existence of local magnetic moments, solving a long-standing debate on the origin of such polarization. New spin polarization effects are predicted for the paramagnetic phase even with unpolarized light, opening new directions for full mapping of spin interactions in macroscopically non magnetic or nanostructured systems.