Site-specific electronic structures of ferrimagnetic Fe₃O₄ measured by resonant X-ray magnetic scattering

Resonant magnetic scattering of circularly polarized synchrotron X-rays has revealed the site-specific magnetic moments at two non-equivalent Fe ion sites in Fe₃O₄. The energy-dependent peaks for the 026 and 266 reflections were attributed ferrimagnetically to the e and t₂ energy levels of Fe 3d at the A site, and to the t_2g and e_g levels at the B site, respectively, having a sequence of t_2g, e, e_g and t₂ in order of energy. This sequence agrees with the local spin-density approximation calculations in the literature [Anisimov, Elfimov, Hamada & Terakura, (1996). Phys. Rev. 54, 4387–4390], in which the spin-down band at the Fermi energy corresponds to t_2g. Resonant magnetic Fourier synthesis reveals the electron densities of the ferrimagnetic moments.