Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering studies of Rare Earth Hexaborides*

We present new hard-X-ray Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering (RIXS) data at the L edges of several rare-earth hexaborides. Our incident-energy-, momentum-, and polarization-dependent measurements display some features which appear to be well described using density functional theory calculations related to 5d bands in these materials. Polarization-dependent data shows anomalies particularly at high incident energy in the divalent materials and we propose a process which describes the origin of this scattering. Our investigations lay the groundwork for future high energy resolution RIXS studies in materials based on f electrons, where moment screening, hybridization, and mixed valency control the low-energy behavior.