Magnetic structure of the spin-liquid state in a frustrated pyrochlore

The antiferromagnetic pyrochlores exhibit a high degree of frustration, resulting in a continuously disordered ground state. Neutron powder diffraction experiments have detected magnetic scattering similar in form to a liquid structure factor. We present a single crystal neutron scattering study of the pyrochlore CsNiCrF₆ and quantify the anisotropy of the scattering. Using these data, we show that there are strong correlations between nearest-neighbor spins, and no significant longer correlations. This provides clear evidence for the liquidlike nature of the pyrochlore magnetic structure.