MS-105: Magnetic order in complex materials: applications of resonant and non-resonant x-ray spectroscopy

Co-Chairs: Maria Angeles Laguna-Marco & Laurent Chapon

Sponsoring Commission: XAFS

Co-Sponsoring Commission: Magnetic Structures

Supporting Commission: Powder Diffraction

Though neutron scattering has long been the gold standard for probing the interplay between magnetic structure and physical properties in materials, modern synchrotron X-ray sources provide complementary methods for investigating magnetic systems. Synchrotrons offer exceptionally high flux and coherence, nanoscale spatial resolution, and unique spectroscopic capabilities involving resonant and non-resonant X-ray beams in either absorption or emission modes. Magnetic X-ray spectroscopies are especially useful in situations where neutrons face intrinsic limitations, such as thin films and interfaces, very small crystals, and materials with high neutron absorption rates. They can also be employed under extreme temperatures, pressures, and magnetic fields. Notably, X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) and X-ray magnetic linear dichroism (XMLD) techniques probe the microscopic origins of exchange interactions and magnetic anisotropy and enable the separation of charge, orbital, and spin degrees of freedom. This session will highlight both methods and materials. We encourage contributions that showcase advancements in instrumentation, data analysis tools, and innovative X-ray scattering techniques (e.g., XMCD combined with resonant inelastic scattering of hard X-rays at the K-edge for a dichroic signal comparable to the L-edge), as well as applications of existing methods to new magnetic materials.