Enhanced orbital magnetic moment on Co atoms in Co/Pd multilayers: A magnetic circular x-ray dichroism study

Abstract

Magnetic circular x-ray dichroism measurements at the Co ${\mathit{L}}_{3}$ and ${\mathit{L}}_{2}$ edges in Co/Pd multilayers give first experimental evidence for a greatly enhanced orbital moment compared to that in bulk Co, confirming recent theoretical predictions. Our results also show that, in general, there is no simple relationship between the dichroism signal and either the spin moment or the total moment. This is verified by a simple model calculation.