Theory of indirect resonant inelastic X-ray scattering

TL;DR

This paper develops a theoretical framework for indirect resonant inelastic X-ray scattering, expressing the cross section through dynamic correlation functions and showing how to tune spectral contributions via photon energy.

Contribution

It provides an asymptotically exact expression for the scattering cross section in terms of charge and spin correlations, enabling control over spectral features.

Findings

Cross section expressed as a combination of charge and spin correlations.

Asymptotic exactness for strong and weak core-hole potentials.

Photon energy variation alters charge and spin spectral contributions.

Abstract

We express the cross section for indirect resonant inelastic X-ray scattering in terms of an intrinsic dynamic correlation function of the system that is studied with this technique. The cross section is a linear combination of the charge response function and the dynamic longitudinal spin density correlation function. This result is asymptotically exact for both strong and weak local core-hole potentials. We show that one can change the relative charge and spin contribution to the inelastic spectral weight by varying the incident photon energy.