In spin resolved XPS, as I understand it, normal electrostatic plates are used to align and focus the emitted electrons.
The spin of the electrons would align to any external magnetic field, and from the electrons' perspective the electrostatic lenses would be a moving charged field. So why don't the electrons align to the moving electrostatic field?
Furthermore since not all of the electrons that are emitted are moving with the same energy, and electrons are a moving charge, the electrons would have a magnetic field. Why don't the emitted electrons align to the magnetic field of other emitted electrons?
These are quite interesting questions.
First of all a magnetic field does not "align" the spin. Instead the spin component perpendicular to the magnetic field precesses with an angular velocity that linearly increases with the magnetic field. The spin component along the magnetic field vector is not changed.
The phenomenon proposed by Christopher indeed exists. However, it is for the usual experimental conditions too small to be observed. Even in the case of pulsed electrical fields it can be neglected (see By: Schonhense, G; Spiecker, H; JOURNAL OF VACUUM SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY B Volume: 20 Issue: 6 Pages: 2526-2534 ( 2002)).
Second question: A moving electron causes indeed a magnetic field. However, the intensity of presently available X-ray sources do not allow to emit a high enough electron density to create a magnetic field high enough to cause deflections. I guess that with increasing electron density the space charge of the electron cloud causes a more severe problem than the magnetic field.
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Physical Sciences
- Waves