VUV and Soft X-ray Spectroscopy of Actinides

Abstract

ABSTRACTOptical and photoelectron spectroscopies using VUV and Soft X-ray photons are powerful tools for studies of elemental and compound actinides. Large changes in the relative atomic cross sections of the 5f, 6d and sp electrons allow decomposition of the character of the valence bands using photoemission. Resonant enhancement of photoelectrons and Auger electrons at the 5d core threshold further aids the decomposition and gives a measure of elemental specificity. Angle-resolved photoemission can be used to map the momentum dependence of the electronic states. The large changes in relative cross section with photon energy yields further details when the mapping is done at equivalent points in multiple zones. Spectra for well understood rare earth materials will be presented to establish spectral characteristics for known atomic character initial states. These signatures will be applied to the case of USb to investigate f-d hybridization near the Fermi level.