Inelastic scattering of polarized low-energy electrons by plasmons in ferromagnetic metals

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Abstract
In a ferromagnetic metal a plasmon involves a charge polarization together with a spin-density modulation. Therefore it can be excited by an external electron through both the Coulomb and exchange coupling. The electron mean free path for plasmon excitation through the Coulomb interaction was studied by Pines and Ferrell. Here we extend those results to incorporate exchange effects which lead to a different mean free path for electrons with spin parallel and antiparallel to the magnetization. The electron scattering techniques using spin-modulated beams should allow the measurement of these differential effects.