Abstract
We calculate the oxygen -edge x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) spectra of to investigate the origin of light-element XMCD. The XMCD spectra evaluated by using a multiple scattering theory are interpreted in terms of the spin-orbit interaction (SOI) at each atomic site. We find that the SOI at the nearest-neighbor Cr atoms dominantly contributes to the oxygen -edge XMCD. Since it has been speculated that XMCD originates from the spin polarization and the SOI at the x-ray-absorbing atom, the present finding may lead to modification of the previously speculated mechanism underlying -edge XMCD. We also perform calculations with a small cluster to examine how the O- and Cr- states are hybridized and how oxygen atoms acquire orbital angular momentum density. Strong -edge XMCD features reflect the character of the states of neighboring magnetic atoms and do not directly connect to the orbital magnetic moments of light-element states.
- Received 19 June 2017
- Revised 16 September 2017
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.96.144419
©2017 American Physical Society