Manipulating cold atoms in traps is a key tool for numerous realizations of quantum simulators and quantum sensors. They require accurate modeling and characterization of the underlying trapping potentials. We introduce a technique based on the Mach-Zehnder interferometer for in-situ characterization of weakly anharmonic potentials. By simulating the interferometer in an optical dipole trap, we can accurately determine its trap frequency and upper bounds onto anharmonicity magnitudes.
@article{arxiv.2602.20824,
title = {Mach-Zehnder interferometer for in-situ characterization of atom traps},
author = {Alexander Wolf and Maxim A. Efremov},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2602.20824},
year = {2026}
}