Spectra of scattered x-rays from condensed matter

The article discusses scattering of x-rays from electrons in condensed matter. Different types of inelastic scattering processes are identified as arising from participation of different kinds of electronic excitations in the scattering act. Single-particle excitations give rise to Compton and Raman as well as resonance Raman scattering, and the collective plasma excitations produce plasmon scattering. A unified theoretical formulation is given and the expressions for the different scattering cross sections for the different scattering processes are collected together. Some recent experimental results are discussed to exemplify the richness of the field. (author)