MAGNETIC-PROPERTIES OF SOME REFE2 AND GD-FE INTERMETALLICS STUDIED BY CIRCULAR MAGNETIC-X-RAY DICHROISM

Magnetic X-ray dichroism experiments, using circularly polarized X-ray photons (CMXD), have been performed on several rare-earth(RE)-Fe intermetallics both at the L(II,III) absorption edges of the rare earth and at the K edge of iron. We show in this communication how such experiments can yield direct information about the local magnetic properties of RE and Fe atoms in these intermetallic compounds. We demonstrate that CMXD experiments are able both to reveal the existence of an ordered magnetic moment on the various sites independently and the nature of coupling between the RE and the Fe magnetic moments.