  Detailed information on the electronic states of both V and Mn 3d electrons
in the ferrimagnet Mn2VAl is obtained by the bulk sensitive resonant inelastic
soft x-ray scattering (SX-RIXS) excited with the circularly polarized light
under an external magnetic field for the first time. The results under the V
L-edge excitation have revealed the negligible partial density of states (PDOS)
of the V 3d states around the Fermi energy as well as their rather localized
character. Under the Mn L-edge excitation, on the other hand, the spectra are
dominated by fluorescence with clear magnetic circular dichroism with
noticeable excitation photon energy dependence. Compared with the theoretical
prediction of the RIXS spectra based on the density-functional-theory band
structure calculation, an itinerant, spin-dependent character of the Mn 3d
states and decays of the Mn 2p core states are confirmed in consistence with
the half-metallicity of the Mn 3d states.
