AION
Atom Interferometer Observatory and Network; a UK collaboration between Imperial College London and the University of Oxford to develop quantum sensors for detecting gravitational waves and dark matter.
Last refreshed: 24 June 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
What frequency of gravitational waves can atom interferometers detect that LIGO cannot?
Timeline for AION
Published shared-baseline atom-interferometry proof-of-technique results in Nature
UK Startups and Innovation: AION quantum result lands in NatureBackground
AION published results in Nature on 17 June 2026 demonstrating that two atom interferometers run along a shared baseline can cancel their shared noise, recovering gravitational-wave and dark-matter signals that a single instrument cannot detect. The result validates the technical premise for a full-scale detector.
Standing for Atom Interferometer Observatory and Network, AION is led by Imperial College London, with Professor Oliver Buchmueller as principal investigator, in collaboration with the University of Oxford. It is funded through UKRI's Quantum Technologies for Fundamental Physics scheme, administered by STFC. The next stage, AION-10, is a ten-metre detector planned for Oxford's Beecroft building.
Atom interferometry uses the wave properties of ultracold atoms to measure tiny changes in acceleration or gravity with extreme precision. Its applications in fundamental physics include direct detection of gravitational waves in a frequency band inaccessible to existing laser interferometers such as LIGO, and searches for ultralight dark-matter candidates. AION carries no commercial spinout at this stage.
