Collective excitations in x-ray spectra of metals

Abstract

New analytical and numerical results are presented for the many-body theory of x-ray spectra of metals. A method is presented whereby the previous edge theory is extended to the entire spectrum. It is shown that collective excitations do influence the entire spectrum, and not just the edge. Numerical results are presented for Li, Na, Mg, and Al, and compared to experiment. This theory is able to explain the $L_{2,3}$ absorption-edge shape, and the entire emission spectrum of lithium.