MAGNETIC CIRCULAR-DICHROISM OBSERVED WITH RESONANT X-RAY-FLUORESCENCE

We discuss the magnetic circular dichroism observed in the L(alpha) an d L(beta) x-ray fluorescence spectra of the 3d ferromagnets when excit ed by circularly polarized photons. Excitation by polychromatic photon s or under resonance conditions (i.e., by photons tuned to the L(2) or L(3) threshold energy) are considered. We take the example of nickel to show how the x-ray fluorescence dichroism may be damped by L(2)-L(3 )M(4,5) Coster-Kronig transitions when the incoming photon energy is a bove the L(2) threshold.