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X-ray absorption and resonant inelastic x-ray scattering spectra of LaPt2Si2 single crystal at the Si 2p and La 4d edges are presented. The data are interpreted in terms of density functional theory, showing that the Si spectra can be described in terms of Si s and d local partial density of states (LPDOS), and the La spectra are due to quasi-atomic local 4f excitations. Calculations show that Pt d-LPDOS dominates the occupied states, and a sharp localized La f state is found in the unoccupied states, in line with the observations.

X-ray absorption and resonant inelastic x-ray scattering spectra of LaPt2Si2 single crystal at the Si 2p and La 4d edges are presented. The data are interpreted in terms of density functional theory, showing that the Si spectra can be described in terms of Si s and d local partial density of states (LPDOS), and the La spectra are due to quasi-atomic local 4f excitations. Calculations show that Pt d-LPDOS dominates the occupied states, and a sharp localized La f state is found in the unoccupied states, in line with the observations.

X-ray absorption and resonant inelastic x-ray scattering spectra of LaPt2Si2 single crystal at the Si 2p and La 4d edges are presented. The data are interpreted in terms of density functional theory, showing that the Si spectra can be described in terms of Si s and d local partial density of states (LPDOS), and the La spectra are due to quasi-atomic local 4f excitations. Calculations show that Pt d-LPDOS dominates the occupied states, and a sharp localized La f state is found in the unoccupied states, in line with the observations.

A report on a four-axis ultra-high-stability manipulator developed for use at the Veritas and Species RIXS beamlines at MAX IV Laboratory, Lund, Sweden, is presented. The manipulator consists of a compact, light-weight X-Y table with a stiffened Z tower carrying a platform with a rotary seal to which a manipulator rod holding the sample can be attached. Its design parameters have been optimized to achieve high eigen-frequencies via a light-weight yet stiff construction, to absorb forces without deformations, provide a low center of gravity, and have a compact footprint without compromising access to the manipulator rod. The manipulator system can house a multitude of different, easily exchangeable, manipulator rods that can be tailor-made for specific experimental requirements without having to rebuild the entire sample positioning system. It is shown that the manipulator has its lowest eigen-frequency at 48.5 Hz and that long-term stability is in the few tens of nanometres. Position accuracy is shown to be better than 100 nm. Angular accuracy is in the 500 nrad range with a long-term stability of a few hundred nanoradians.

With the introduction of the multi-bend achromats in the new fourth-generation storage rings the emittance has decreased by an order of magnitude resulting in increased brightness. However, the higher brightness comes with smaller beam sizes and narrower radiation cones. As a consequence, the requirements on mechanical stability regarding the beamline components increases. Here an innovative five-axis parallel kinematic mirror unit for use with soft X-ray beamlines using off-axis grazing-incidence optics is presented. Using simulations and measurements from the HIPPIE beamline at the MAX IV Laboratory it is shown that it has no Eigen frequencies below 90 Hz. Its positioning accuracy is better than 25 nm linearly and 17-35 mu rad angularly depending on the mirror chamber dimensions.

SPECIES is an undulator-based soft X-ray beamline that replaced the old I511 beamline at the MAX II storage ring. SPECIES is aimed at high-resolution ambient-pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (APXPS), near-edge X-ray absorption fine-structure (NEXAFS), X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) experiments. The beamline has two branches that use a common elliptically polarizing undulator and monochromator. The beam is switched between the two branches by changing the focusing optics after the monochromator. Both branches have separate exit slits, refocusing optics and dedicated permanent endstations. This allows very fast switching between two types of experiments and offers a unique combination of the surface-sensitive XPS and bulk-sensitive RIXS techniques both in UHV and at elevated ambient-pressure conditions on a single beamline. Another unique property of the beamline is that it reaches energies down to approximately 27 eV, which is not obtainable on other current APXPS beamlines. This allows, for instance, valence band studies under ambient-pressure conditions. In this article the main properties and performance of the beamline are presented, together with selected showcase experiments performed on the new setup.

With the invention of femtosecond X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs), studies of light-induced chemical reaction dynamics and structural dynamics reach a new era, allowing for time-resolved X-ray diffraction and spectroscopy. To ultimately probe coherent electron and nuclear dynamics on their natural time and length scales, coherent nonlinear X-ray spectroscopy schemes have been proposed. In this contribution, we want to critically assess the experimental realisation of nonlinear X-ray spectroscopy at current-day XFEL sources, by presenting first experimental attempts to demonstrate stimulated resonant X-ray Raman scattering in molecular gas targets., QC 20161017

Stimulated electronic x-ray Raman scattering is the building block for several proposed x-ray pump probe techniques, that would allow the study of electron dynamics at unprecedented timescales. We present high spectral resolution data on stimulated electronic x-ray Raman scattering in a gas sample of neon using a self-amplified spontaneous emission x-ray free-electron laser. Despite the limited spectral coherence and broad bandwidth of these sources, high-resolution spectra can be obtained by statistical methods, opening the path to coherent stimulated x-ray Raman spectroscopy. An extension of these ideas to molecules and the results of a recent experiment in CO are discussed.

An influence of static magnetic fields on the fluorescence yield spectrum of He in the vicinity of the N=2 thresholds has been observed. The experimental results are in excellent agreement with predictions based on multichannel quantum defect theory, and it is demonstrated that the Rydberg electron ℓ mixing due to the diamagnetic interaction is essential for the description of the observed fluorescence yield intensity enhancement.

A dramatic electric field dependence has been observed in the fluorescence yield spectrum of the doubly excited states in helium, where a rich phenomenology is encountered below the N=2 threshold. Fluorescence yields of certain states can be tuned to zero, while other dipole-forbidden states are significantly enhanced, for fields much weaker than 1 kV/cm. Using an R-matrix multichannel quantum defect theory, spherical-to-parabolic frame transformation method, we are able to reproduce the main features of the observed spectrum, and we discuss the qualitative behavior in terms of weak electric field mixing.

We have studied the spectral features of Cl L-II,L-III resonant x-ray Raman scattering of HCl molecules in gas phase both experimentally and theoretically. The theory, formulated in the intermediate-coupling scheme, takes into account the spin-orbital and molecular-field splittings in the Cl 2p shells, as well as the Coulomb interaction of the core hole with unoccupied molecular orbitals. Experiment and theory display nondispersive dissociative peaks formed by decay transitions in both molecular and dissociative regions. The molecular and atomic peaks collapse in a single narrow resonance because the dissociative potentials of core-excited and final states are parallel to each other along the whole pathway of the nuclear wave packet.

Magnetron-sputtered carbon nitride thin films with different structures and compositions were analyzed by X-ray and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS and UPS), near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (NEXAFS), as well as X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES). In all techniques, the carbon spectra are broad and featureless with little variation depending on growth conditions. The nitrogen spectra, on the other hand, show more distinct features, providing a powerful tool for structural characterization. By comparing the experimental spectra with calculations on different model systems, we are able to identify three major bonding structures of the nitrogen-N1: nitrile (C equivalent to N) bonds; N2: Pyridine-like N, i.e., N bonded to two C atoms; and N3: graphite-like N, i.e., N bonded to three C atoms as if substituted in a graphitic network, however, possibly positioned in a pentagon and/or with sp(3) carbon neighbors. The presence of N2 and N3 are best detected by XPS, while N1 is better detected by NEXAFS. The calculated XES spectra also give good indications how valence band spectra should be interpreted. Films grown at the higher temperatures ( greater than or equal to 350 degreesC) show a pronounced angular dependence of the incoming photon beam in NEXATS measurements, which suggests a textured microstructure with standing graphitic basal planes, while amorphous films grown at low temperatures show isotropic properties., QC 20100525

The spin transition in LaCoO3 is investigated by temperature-dependent resonant soft X-ray emission spectroscopy near the Co 2p absorption edges. This element-specific technique is more bulk sensitive with respect to the temperature-induced spin state of the Co3+ ions in LaCoO3 than other high-energy spectroscopic methods. The spin transition is interpreted and discussed with ab initio density-functional theory within the fixed-spin moment method, which is found to yield consistent spectral functions to the experimental data. The spectral changes for LaCoO3 as a function of temperature suggest a change in spin state as the temperature is raised from 85 to 300 K, while the system remains in the same spin state as the temperature is further increased to 510 K.

The results of fluorescence measurements of magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) in Mn L2,3 X-ray emission and absorption for Heusler alloys NiMnSb and Co2MnSb are presented. Very intense resonance Mn L3 emission is found at the Mn 2p3/2 threshold and attributed to a peculiarity of the threshold excitation in materials with a half-metallic character of the electronic structure. The excitation energy dependence of Mn L2,3 X-ray emission spectra (XES) was measured at beamline ID12B at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF, Grenoble) using 83% circularly polarized X-rays. A very large MCD effect found in XES is attributed to strong exchange splitting of spin-up and spin-down Mn 3d states. The anomalously high ratio of L2 emission intensity to L3 emission intensity is found.

A recent experimental study [J.-E. Rubensson et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 83, 947 (1999)] measured a significant fluorescence yield of the He( 2lnl′) photoexcited resonances, showing major qualitative differences from nonrelativistic predictions. We present a further theoretical study of these states, and perform R-matrix multichannel quantum defect theory calculations to extract fluorescence and ionization cross sections. These theoretical results are in excellent agreement with newer, higher-resolution measurements. Radiative and spin-orbit effects are quantified and shown to play an important role in the overall characterization of highly excited states.

The electronic structure of the conjugated polymer, polyaniline, has been studied by resonant and nonresonant soft x-ray emission spectroscopy using synchrotron radiation for the excitation. The measurements were made on polyaniline and a few doped (protonated) phases for both the carbon and nitrogen contents. The resonant x-ray emission spectra show depletion of the π electron bands due to the selective excitation which enhances the effect of symmetry selection rules. The valence band structures in the x-ray emission spectra attributed to the π bands show unambiguous changes of the electronic structure upon protonation. By comparing to x-ray absorption measurements, the chemical bonding and electronic configuration is characterized.

Resonant inelastic scattering measurements of the conjugated polymer, poly(pyridine-2,5-diyl) have been performed at the nitrogen and carbon K-edges using synchrotron radiation. For comparison, molecular orbital calculations of the spectra have been carried out with the repeat unit as a model molecule of the polymer chain. The resonant emission spectra show depletion of the π electron bands which is consistent with symmetry selection and momentum conservation rules. The depletion is most obvious in the resonant inelastic scattering spectra of carbon while the nitrogen spectra are dominated by lone pair n orbital emission of σ symmetry and are less excitation energy dependent. By comparing the measurements to calculations an isomeric dependence of the resonant spectra is found giving preference to two of the four possible isomers in the polymer.

We show evidence of dissociation during resonant inelastic soft x-ray scattering. Carbon and oxygen K-shell and sulfur L-shell resonant and nonresonant x-ray emission spectra were measured using monochromatic synchrotron radiation for excitation and ionization. After sulfur L2,3→π*, σ* excitation, atomic lines are observed in the emission spectra as a consequence of competition between de-excitation and dissociation. In contrast the carbon and oxygen spectra show weaker line-shape variations and no atomic lines. The spectra are compared to results from ab initio calculations. The discussion of the dissociation paths is based on calculated potential energy surfaces and atomic transition energies.