Spin polarization of the magnetic spiral in NaCu₂O₂, as seen by NMR

The incommensurate (IC) spin ordering in quasi-1D edge-shared cuprate NaCu_2O_2 has been studied by ^{23}Na nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in an external magnetic field near 6 Tesla applied along the main crystallographic axes. The NMR lineshape evolution above and below T_N\approx12 K yields a clear signature of an IC static modulation of the local magnetic field consistent with a Cu^{2+} spin spiral polarized in the bc-plane rather than in the ab-plane as reported from earlier neutron diffraction data.