Research on actinide materials, both basic and applied, has been greatly
advanced by the general techniques available from high-intensity photon beams
from x-ray synchrotron sources. The most important single reason is that such
x-ray sources can work with minute (e.g., microgram) samples, and at this
level, the radioactive hazards of actinides are much reduced. We start by
discussing the form and encapsulation procedures used for different techniques,
then discuss the basic theory for interpreting the results. By reviewing a
selection of x-ray diffraction (XRD), resonant elastic x-ray scattering (REXS),
x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD), resonant and non-resonant inelastic
scattering (RIXS, NIXS), dispersive inelastic x-ray scattering (IXS), and
conventional and resonant photoemission experiments, we demonstrate the
potential of synchrotron radiation techniques in studying lattice and
electronic structure, hybridization effects, multipolar order, and lattice
dynamics in actinide materials.Comment: To be published in Reviews of Modern Physics; 57 pages, 36 figures,
475 reference