Electronic structure of Al and Si dissolved in transition or noble metals studied by soft x-ray spectroscopy

K β emission spectra from Al and Si dissolved in transition (Fe and Ni) or noble (Cu) metals as dilute impurities (∼10 at.%) were investigated. In the alloys of the same host metals the spectra of Al and Si bear a striking resemblance to each other. However, there are several important differences between the shapes of the spectra from transition- and noble-metal-based alloys. All these features of the spectra can be reasonably interpreted in terms of the theoretical calculation by Terakura on the energy distribution of the local density of states of the impurity atoms.