We present experimental and theoretical results related to multiatom resona
nt photoemission, in which the photoelectron intensity from a core level on
one atom is influenced by a core-level absorption resonance on another. We
point out that some prior experimental data has been strongly influenced b
y detector nonlinearity and that the effects seen in new corrected data are
smaller and of different form. Corrected data are found to be well describ
ed by an extension of resonant photoemission theory to the interatomic case
, provided that interactions beyond the usual second-order Kramers-Heisenbe
rg treatment are included. This microscopic theory is also found to simplif
y under certain conditions so as to yield results equivalent to a classical
x-ray optical approach, with the latter providing an alternative, although
less detailed and general, physical picture of these effects. The potentia
l utility of these effects as near-neighbor probes, as well as their implic
ations for x-ray emission and x-ray scattering experiments, are also discus
sed.