Magnetic linear dichroism in spin-resolved Gd 4f photoemission

Abstract

Gd 4f photoemission excited by linearly polarized radiation is shown to exhibit a magnetic dichroism, similar to that reported earlier for Fe 3p and 2p photoemission. The dichroism can be observed if electric radiation field, sample magnetization, and electron emission form a chiral system. The results show similarities to data obtained with circularly polarized radiation. Spin-resolved studies show that the exchange-related spin polarization has a constant sign throughout the Gd 4f spectrum, while the spin-orbit-related polarization switches its sign.