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Direct evidence of a zigzag spin-chain structure in the honeycomb lattice: A neutron and x-ray diffraction investigation of single-crystal Na<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:msub><mml:mrow /><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:msub></mml:math>IrO<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:msub><mml:mrow /><mml:mn>3</mml:mn></mml:msub></mml:math>
We have combined single-crystal neutron and x-ray diffractions to investigate the magnetic and crystal structures of the honeycomb lattice Na${}_{2}$IrO${}_{3}$. The system orders magnetically below $18.1(2)$ K with Ir${}^{4+}$ ions forming zigzag spin chains within the layered honeycomb network with an ordered moment of $0.22(1){\ensuremath{\mu}}_{\text{B}}/\text{Ir}$ site. Such a configuration sharply …