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Published on: June 28, 2018
Multiorbital Interactions and Spin Polarization in Single Rare-Earth Adatoms
Massine Kelai1,2, Stefano Reale1,2,3, Roberto Robles4
1Center for Quantum Nanoscience (QNS), Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Seoul 03760, Republic of Korea.
None:
Surface-adsorbed rare-earth nanostructures are ideal platforms to investigate the interplay between intra-atomic interactions and multiorbital spin configurations. However, addressing these properties has posed severe experimental and theoretical challenges. Here, we use the orbital selectivity offered by x-ray absorption spectroscopy to quantify the Coulomb integrals of Nd atoms on conductive surfaces directly from experimental quantities, as well as the variation of individual orbital occupation upon cluster nucleation. Using x-ray magnetic circular dichroism we identify magnetic moments of the order of 0.1-0.2 μ_{B} at the 5d orbitals and their magnetic coupling with the 4f spins. Our results validate orbital-resolved x-ray spectroscopy as a reliable method for quantifying complex multiorbital interactions in surface-adsorbed lanthanides.
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