Induced orbital polarization of Ga ligand atoms in UGa (=Ni, Pd, and Pt)

Kuzushita, Kaori*; Ishii, Kenji; Wilkins, S. B.*; Janousova, B.*; Inami, Toshiya; Owada, Kenji; Tsubota, Masami; Murakami, Yoichi; Kaneko, Koji   ; Metoki, Naoto   ; Ikeda, Shugo; Haga, Yoshinori   ; Onuki, Yoshichika*; Bernhoeft, N.*; Lander, G. H.*

We report a resonant X-ray scattering study of antiferromagnetic uranium compounds UGa (=Ni, Pd, and Pt) at the Ga -edge. A large resonant signal is observed below the Nel temperatures. The azimuth dependence in both - and - polarization channels establishes that the resonant signal has the symmetry of the magnetic dipole. This resonance with the band electrons is interpreted within a semi-localized model as an orbital polarization of the Ga states induced through strong hybridization with U valence level. These results demonstrate that resonant magnetic X-ray scattering at the anions, taken in combination with symmetry arguments, can be used to determine the configuration of the U moments and provide information about the hybridization.