The influence of localized excitations on spin‐selective electron scattering and auger emission in transition metals

Observed spin asymmetry of polarized electrons backscattered from ferromagnetic metallic glasses and spin polarization of Auger electrons in magnetic transition metals can be explained qualitatively in terms of spin‐selective scattering involving intermediate excitation of a transient 3p → 3d localized state. Consideration of photoemission data and of prior theoretical models indicates that this state decays selectively by Auger emission, producing the observed main MVV Auger peak. The final state of this transition is identified with the state whose direct excitation is observed in photoemission for the transition metals as a 6–7 eV satellite. Copyright © 1985 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.