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Soft x-ray resonant scattering has been used to examine the charge and magnetic interactions in the cycloidal antiferromagnetic compound \dyfeal. By tuning to the Dy $M_4$ and $M_5$ absorption edges and the Fe L(2) and L(3) absorption edges we can directly observe the behavior of the Dy 4f and Fe 3d electron shells. Magnetic satellites surrounding the (110) Bragg peak were observed below 60 K. The diffraction peaks display a complex spectra at the Dy M(5) edge, indicative of a split 4f electron band. This is in contrast to a simple resonance observed at the Fe L(3) absorption edge, which probes the Fe 3d electron shell. Temperature dependant measurements detail the ordering of the magnetic moments on both the iron and the dysprosium antiferromagnetic cycloids. The ratio between the intensities of the Dy M(4) and M(5) remained constant throughout the temperature range, in contrast to a previous study conducted at the Dy L(2,3) edges. Our results demonstrate the ability of soft x-ray diffraction to separate the individual magnetic components in complicated multi-element magnetic structures., Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures

Resonant soft x-ray diffraction has been used to probe the temperature dependent orbital and magnetic structure of $\mathrm{LaSr_{2}Mn_{2}O_7}$. Previous crystallographic studies have shown that this material has almost no MnO$_{6}$ oxygen displacement due to Jahn-Teller distortions at low temperatures. Within the low-temperature A-type antiferromagnetic phase, we found strong intensity at the $({1/4},{1/4},0)$ orbital and $LaSr_{2}Mn_{2}O_7$ magnetic reflections. This shows that even in the near absence of Jahn-Teller distortion, this compound is strongly orbitally ordered. A fit to the Mn $L$-edge resonance spectra demonstrates the presence of orbital ordering of the Mn$^{3+}$ ions with virtually no Jahn-Teller crystal field in addition to possible Mn$^{3+}$ and Mn$^{2+}$~like valence fluctuations., Comment: Accepted for publication in Journal of Physics:Condensed Matter as a letter to the editor