Strong Magnetic Multi-Electron Excitations at the L-Edges in Rare Earths

In the magnetic or spin-dependent EXAFS (SPEXAFS), i.e. the magnetic counterpart to the conventional EXAFS, additional strong dispersive structures appear at the Gd, Tb and Ho L-edges within 200eV above the absorption threshold. These features are interpreted as magnetic multi-electron excitations. While similar effects in the EXAFS-profiles are seldom seen they are clearly visible in the dichroic signal due to their strong magnetic character. By the presented high accuracy of our SPEXAFS studies it is possible to separate these MMEE structures from the overlapping strong magnetic EXAFS for the first time and therefore obtain new insight into the physical origin of these effects.