4dresonant inelastic x-ray scattering in gadolinium

Resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) involving selective excitations to Gd $4d^{9}5p^{6}4f^{n+1\mathrm{}}$ intermediate states has been measured. An x-ray resonant Raman effect is clearly identified for excitation to states below the $4d$ ionization threshold. RIXS spectra have been calculated for several excitation energies and provide a good quantitative explanation for the large variation in the $5p\to 4d$ branching ratio intensities observed as a function of excitation energy. Weak structure observed close to the elastic peak is identified as the result of spin-flip scattering.