Electronic structure and photoemission studies of TbNi4B

The electronic structure of the TbNi4B compound has been studied by the X-ray photoemission spectroscopy and ab-initio calculations. The experimental valence band spectrum as well as the calculated density of states exhibit the domination of the Ni(3d) states close to the Fermi level. The Tb(4f) peaks are well localized. The peaks' positions are in a good agreement with the binding energies of the metallic terbium and nickel. Our calculations show that the TbNi4B compound is ferromagnetically ordered. The contributions of Tb and B to the densities of states at the Fermi level are very small. (copyright 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)