Relationship between XMCD and molecular field in rare-earth (R) transition-metal (T) intermetallic compounds

This work reports an x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) study performed at the rare-earth L-2,L-3 edges in several rare-earth transition-metal RT2 compounds ( T = Fe, Co and Al). The transition metal contributes to the XMCD of the rare earth recorded at the L2 edge while no influence is detected at the L-3 edge. This contribution shows the same spectral shape for both light and heavy rare earths and its amplitude reflects the sign and the magnitude of the magnetic moment of the transition metal. The results here presented point out that this contribution is associated with the molecular field due to the transition metal acting at the rare-earth sites.