“…Nearest-neighbor (NN) spins in the b-c plane are anti-parallel and the stacking along the a-axis is such that ferromagnetic * electronic mail: jiy@ameslab.gov † electronic mail: vaknin@ameslab.gov sheets perpendicular to the b-axis are formed; nearest neighbor sheets are anti-parallel giving rise to (010) fundamental magnetic reflection that, depending on the direction of the magnetic moment, can be intense or extinct. Earlier neutron diffraction studies of polycrystalline samples showed that the magnetic space group of LiFePO 4 and LiCoPO 4 is Pnma' with the spins oriented along b crystallographic direction (i.e., the (010) reflection is absent), and Pnm'a magnetic space group for LiNiPO 4 and LiMnPO 4 with the spins aligned parallel to the c-axis (i.e., strong intensity at the (010) reflection) [11,12,15,16,17,18]. Recent neutron diffraction measurements of single crystal LiCoPO 4 reported finite intensity at the (010) reflection, interpreted in terms of a ground state with a spin direction that is slightly rotated from the b-axis [12].…”