Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Faculty of Physics,
64/13 Volodymyrska str., 01601 Kyiv, Ukraine; e-mail: sgr@univ.kiev.ua

Abstract. The magneto-optical Kerr effect in Gd₂₀Co₈₀ alloy and cobalt thin films has been studied in a broad spectral range applying spectral ellipsometry experimental technique. The results of the experiments showed the complex nature of the complex Kerr angle dispersion curves. A quantum mechanical formalism for degenerate and non-degenerate Landau levels for quasi-free electrons in ferromagnetic material has been developed in order to analyze the experimental data. The equivalence of relations for off-diagonal dielectric tensor elements for non-degenerate Landau levels to the classical case of the motion of quasi-free electrons along circular trajectories in a magnetic field has been theoretically shown. The degenerate Landau levels in this approach are the result of motion of electrons in small confined volumes near rare-earth alloy atoms. Rotation of light polarization occurs in this case due to transitions between subbands having different magnetic quantum numbers. This theoretical approach allowed us to interpret in detail shapes and sign of the complex Kerr angle dispersion curves, which actually include the contributions of optical transitions between degenerate and non-degenerate energy levels. The complex Kerr angle sign is determined by the magnetization magnetic field direction for non-degenerate Landau levels and the Hund rule for degenerate Landau levels.

Keywords: gadolinium cobalt alloy, Landau levels, magneto-optic Kerr effect.

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