Direct determination of the magnetic ground state in the square lattice S = 1/2 antiferromagnet Li2VOSiO4

Powder neutron diffraction and resonant x-ray scattering measurements from a single crystal have been performed to study the low-temperature state of the 2D frustrated, quantum-Heisenberg system Li2VOSiO4. Both techniques indicate a collinear antiferromagnetic ground state, with propagation vector k=(1 / 2 1 / 2 0), and magnetic moments in the a-b plane. Contrary to previous reports, the ordered moment at 1.44 K, m=0.63(3)micro(B), is very close to the value expected for the square lattice Heisenberg model ( approximately 0.6micro(B)). The magnetic order is three dimensional, with antiferromagnetic a-b layers stacked ferromagnetically along the c axis. Neither x-ray nor neutron diffraction shows evidence for a structural distortion between 1.6 and 10 K.