A next-generation worldwide quantum sensor network with optical atomic clocks

Operation co-funded by EU cohesion policy (European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)) under the programme Smart growth - PL - ERDF (2014PL16RFOP001), managing authority: Ministerstwo obsługujące ministra właściwego ds. rozwoju regionalnego. The source names no beneficiary for this operation. Location: Trójmiejski (NUTS PL633); Poland. Budget: total eligible expenditure EUR 706,982.91; EU co-financing EUR 706,982.91 (co-financing rate 100%), as stated by the source. Runs 2018-04-01 to 2021-12-29. Source: Kohesio, EU cohesion policy projects managed by national and regional authorities (not CORDIS). Summary from Kohesio (English machine translation by the source): The sensor network made of optical atomic clocks and methods developed within this project will have spin-off benefits in a plethora of applications, including natural resource detection, navigation, Oceanography, gravitational wave detection and astronomy. In particular, we have recently demonstrated that a single optical atomic clock is sensitive to variations in the fine-structure constant. We will establish an Earth-scale observatory for detecting dark matter in the form of topological defects and oscillating scalar fields and test existing hypotheses of new fields beyond the Standard Model at an unprecedented level of accuracy. We will also investigate general relativistic justification of the dark matter hypothesis. Our detection thresholds will be achieved by applying our new approach to synchronise already existing optical atomic clocks. The clocks within the proposed global network do not have to be directly linked via dedicated fibre links but only via an internet cloud.

Original source.

Source: Kohesio (EU cohesion policy projects), European Commission, Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO). Retrieved 2026-10-21. Licence: CC0 1.0 (Cohesion Open Data Platform, dataset 2014-2020 Kohesio projects). Selected metadata, adapted presentation; the publisher's record is authoritative. No endorsement by the source is implied. Licence: public domain dedication (CC0 1.0).

AI-assisted summary: The project involves a quantum sensor network utilizing optical atomic clocks, co-funded by the EU with a budget of EUR 706,982.91, running from April 2018 to December 2021 in Trójmiejski, Poland, with applications in various scientific fields. Suggested technology pillar: sensing. Generated by AI from the public source text; it may contain errors and the original source is authoritative.