  Soft x-ray linear and circular dichroism (XLD, XMCD) experiments at the Ce
M$_{4,5}$ edges are being used to determine the energy scales characterizing
the Ce $4f$ degrees of freedom in the ultrathin ordered surface intermetallic
CeAg$_x$/Ag(111). We find that all relevant interactions, i. e. Kondo
scattering, crystal field splitting and magnetic exchange coupling occur on
small scales. Our study demonstrates the usefulness of combining x-ray
absorption experiments probing linear and circular dichroism owing to their
strong sensitivity for anisotropies in both charge distribution and
paramagnetic response, respectively.
