Spin-liquid ground state in the frustrated J₁-J₂ zigzag chain system BaTb₂O₄

We have investigated polycrystalline samples of the zigzag chain system BaTb₂O₄ with magnetic susceptibility, heat capacity, neutron powder diffraction, and muon spin relaxation (μSR). No magnetic transitions are observed in the bulk measurements, while neutron diffraction reveals the presence of low-temperature, short-range, intrachain magnetic correlations between Tb³⁺ ions. μSR indicates that these correlations are dynamic, as no signatures of static magnetism are detected by the technique down to 0.095 K. These combined findings provide strong evidence for a spin-liquid ground state in BaTb₂O₄.