Momentum-resolved EELS and EMCD spectra from the atomic multiplet theory: Application to magnetite

Abstract

While the energy loss near edge structures of metallic crystals can be calculated with a good accuracy using density functional theory based codes, core-level spectra of transition metal oxides show pronounced multiplet effects which are better described by atomic multiplet codes. We describe the formalism which allows to calculate momentum-resolved electron energy loss spectra in the electric dipole approximation from the atomic multiplet theory, and we apply this formalism to the calculation of energy loss magnetic chiral dichroic spectra of magnetic transition metal oxides. Explicit results are given for magnetite Fe 3O 4.