We describe a model-independent approach for the extraction of spin-wave dispersion curves from powder neutron total scattering data. Our approach is based on a statistical analysis of real-space spin configurations to calculate spin-dynamical quantities. The RMCPROFILE implementation of the reverse Monte Carlo refinement process is used to generate a large ensemble of supercell spin configurations from MnO powder diffraction data collected at 100 K. Our analysis of these configurations gives spin-wave dispersion curves for MnO that agree well with those determined independently using neutron triple-axis spectroscopic techniques. © 2007 The American Physical Society.
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