Abstract
Ultralight axion particles are candidates for dark matter1, conjectured to form stable, macroscopic field configurations in three-dimensional space, resulting in the possible formation of topological defect dark matter2,3,4 (TDM). Exploring their possible existence through a realistic parameter space requires considering interactions that extend beyond the constraints imposed by astrophysical observations of stellar cooling processes5. Here we report the outcome of an experiment that monitors possible transient rotations of polarized spins, which could be induced by the interaction with topological defects, carried out by correlating five noble-gas laboratory set-ups located in two cities. Amplification and optimal noise filtering in hyperpolarized noble-gas spins greatly enhance the sensitivity to TDM-induced spin rotations, reaching approximately 10−6 rad. Through this, we set constraints on the axion–nucleon coupling across an axion mass range from 10 peV to 0.2 μeV, achieving 4.1 × 1010 GeV at 84 peV. These values exceed known constraints imposed by astrophysical observations, although these are obtained under different model assumptions. Our approach could further stimulate broad beyond-Standard Model physics searches, such as transient axion waves, axion stars, axion strings and Q-balls.
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Source data for the main figures are provided with this paper. Further data and code generated during the study are available from the corresponding authors on request.
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Acknowledgements
We thank D. Budker for valuable discussions, as well as J. Chen and C. Sun for their suggestions on the figures. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant nos. T2388102, 92476204, 11927811, 12150014, 12274395, 123B2063 and 12261160569), Chinese Academy of Sciences (grant no. XDB1300000), Innovation Program for Quantum Science and Technology (grant no. 2021ZD0303205), Youth Innovation Promotion Association (grant no. 2023474), Chinese Academy of Sciences Magnetic Resonance Technology Alliance Research Instrument and Equipment Development/Functional Development (grant no. 2022GZL003), Frontier Scientific Research Program of Deep Space Exploration Laboratory (grant no. 2022-QYKYJH-HXYF-013) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (grant no. WK2030250128).
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Y.W. designed the experimental protocols, performed experiments, analysed the data and wrote the manuscript. Y.H., X.K., D.C., J.X.X. and W.Z. performed experiments and edited the manuscript. Y.C. and S.P. edited the manuscript. M.J., X.P. and J.D. proposed the experimental concept, designed experimental protocols and proofread and edited the manuscript. All authors contributed with discussions and checking the manuscript.
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The Supplementary Information contains 22 Supplementary Figs., two Supplementary Tables and the following sections: Theory of axion topological defect dark matter and expected signal; Nuclear spin sensor; Intercity noble-gas spin-sensor network; Comparison between our work and existing approaches; Data analysis; Extraction of the constraint; Advancements and future perspectives in network-based dark matter detection.
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Wang, Y., Huang, Y., Kang, X. et al. Constraints on axion dark matter by distributed intercity quantum sensors. Nature (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-10034-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-10034-w
