  We report on results from high-energy spectroscopic measurements on CeFe2, a
system of particular interest due to its anomalous ferromagnetism with an
unusually low Curie temperature and small magnetization compared to the other
rare earth-iron Laves phase compounds. Our experimental results indicate very
strong hybridization of the Ce 4f states with the delocalized band states,
mainly the Fe 3d states. In the interpretation and analysis of our measured
spectra, we have made use of two different theoretical approaches: The first
one is based on the Anderson impurity model, with surface contributions
explicitly taken into account. The second method consists of band-structure
calculations for bulk CeFe2. The analysis based on the Anderson impurity model
gives calculated spectra in good agreement with the whole range of measured
spectra, and reveals that the Ce 4f -- Fe 3d hybridization is considerably
reduced at the surface, resulting in even stronger hybridization in the bulk
than previously thought. The band-structure calculations are ab initio
full-potential linear muffin-tin orbital calculations within the
local-spin-density approximation of the density functional. The Ce 4f electrons
were treated as itinerant band electrons. Interestingly, the Ce 4f partial
density of states obtained from the band-structure calculations also agree well
with the experimental spectra concerning both the 4f peak position and the 4f
bandwidth, if the surface effects are properly taken into account. In addition,
results, notably the partial spin magnetic moments, from the band-structure
calculations are discussed in some detail and compared to experimental findings
and earlier calculations.
