Local electronic and crystal structure of rare-earth cobalt phosphides RCo2P2 (R = La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Eu) studied by XAFS and RIXS

A detailed combined study of local electronic and crystal structures was performed for a series of rare-earth cobalt phosphides RCo2P2 (R = La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Eu) with peculiar itinerant magnetic ordering schemes using different methods employing the synchrotron radiation: RIXS, XANES and EXAFS. Europium and cerium are shown to be in the intermediate valence state in all compounds. The correlation between rare-earth valence and the observed changes of magnetic ordering in the systems under investigation is discussed.