Local Density of States and Core-Hole Conduction-Electron Interactions in the X-Ray Photoemission Spectra of Pt and Ni

The monochromatized x-ray photoemission spectra of the Pt $4f$ and Ni 2p3/2 levels in the pure elements exhibit an asymmetry which disappears when Pt and Ni atoms are diluted into Cd, but not when Pt is diluted into Au. From the behavior of the conduction-band photoemission spectra of these alloys it is argued that the elimination of the asymmetry is related to the reduction of the local density of states of the electrons at the Fermi level available to screen the hole potential, as suggested by recent theories.