ABSORPTION RESONANCES IN THE 2P THRESHOLD OF MANGANESE ATOMS

The soft x-ray absorption spectrum of atomic manganese (Z = 25) at the L threshold is presented. The experimental spectrum is compared to Hartree-Fock (HF) calculations of the 2p --> 3d dipole excitations, to previously published spectra of solid Mn and of manganese impurities in Cu and Ag obtained by electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) and to the soft x-ray absorption spectrum (XAS) of MnF2. It is shown that the atomic 2p absorption spectrum can be well described by a single configuration HF calculation in intermediate coupling, and that the main features at the 2p absorption threshold of solid Mn, the manganese impurity systems and MnF2 are of atomic origin.