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Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a well-established analytical technique used to study chemicals and their transformations. However, high-eld NMR spectroscopy necessitates advanced infrastructure and even cryogen-free benchtop NMR spectrometers cannot be readily assembled from commercially available components. We demonstrate the construction of a portable zero-field NMR spectrometer employing a commercially available magnetometer and investigate its applications in analytical chemistry. In particular, J-spectra of small representative biomolecules [13C]-formic acid, [1-13C]-glycine, [2,3-13C]-fumarate, and [1-13C]-D-glucose were acquired and an approach relying on the presence of a transverse magnetic eld during the detection was investigated for relaxometry purposes. We found that water relaxation time strongly depends on the concentration of dissolved D-glucose in the range of 1-10 mM suggesting opportunities for indirect assessment of glucose concentration in aqueous solutions. Extending analytical capabilities of zero-field NMR to aqueous solutions of simple biomolecules (aminoacids, sugars and metabolites) and relaxation studies of aqueous solutions of glucose highlight the analytical potential of non-invasive and portable ZULF NMR sensors for applications outside of research laboratories. 

The Gamma Factory initiative proposes to develop novel research tools at CERN by producing, accelerating, and storing highly relativistic, partially stripped ion beams in the SPS and LHC storage rings. By exciting the electronic degrees of freedom of the stored ions with lasers, high‐energy narrow‐band photon beams will be produced by properly collimating the secondary radiation that is peaked in the direction of ions' propagation. Their intensities, up to 1017 photons per second, will be several orders of magnitude higher than those of the presently operating light sources in the particularly interesting γ–ray energy domain reaching up to 400 MeV. This article reviews opportunities that may be afforded by utilizing the primary beams for spectroscopy of partially stripped ions circulating in the storage ring, as well as the atomic‐physics opportunities made possible by the use of the secondary high‐energy photon beams. The Gamma Factory will enable ground‐breaking experiments in spectroscopy and novel ways of testing fundamental symmetries of nature. 

Abstract Ultralight bosons such as axion-like particles are viable candidates for dark matter. They can form stable, macroscopic field configurations in the form of topological defects that could concentrate the dark matter density into many distinct, compact spatial regions that are small compared with the Galaxy but much larger than the Earth. Here we report the results of the search for transient signals from the domain walls of axion-like particles by using the global network of optical magnetometers for exotic (GNOME) physics searches. We search the data, consisting of correlated measurements from optical atomic magnetometers located in laboratories all over the world, for patterns of signals propagating through the network consistent with domain walls. The analysis of these data from a continuous month-long operation of GNOME finds no statistically significant signals, thus placing experimental constraints on such dark matter scenarios.