Cold-Atom Buoy: A Differential Magnetic Sensing Technique in Cold Quadrupole Trapshdl:21.15109/ARP/HQN8RTARP2026-04-131Kurkó, Árpád; Nagy, Dávid; Simon, Alexandra; Clark, Thomas W.; Dombi, András; Varga, Dániel; Williams, Francis B.; Fortágh, József; Domokos, Peter; Vukics, András, 2026, "Cold-Atom Buoy: A Differential Magnetic Sensing Technique in Cold Quadrupole Traps", https://hdl.handle.net/21.15109/ARP/HQN8RT, ARP, V1Cold-Atom Buoy: A Differential Magnetic Sensing Technique in Cold Quadrupole Trapshdl:21.15109/ARP/HQN8RT10.5158/ARP/HQN8RTKurkó, ÁrpádNagy, DávidSimon, AlexandraClark, Thomas W.Dombi, AndrásVarga, DánielWilliams, Francis B.Fortágh, JózsefDomokos, PeterVukics, András2022-2.1.1-NL-2022-00004 and 2025-3.1.1-ED- 2025-00011MOCA 2019-2.1.7- ERA NET-2022-00041V-mag 2024-1.2.2-ERA NET- 2024-00012230870ARPKurkó, ÁrpádCurko, Árpád2026-04-07Physicscold atomsquantum sensingmagnetic sensingdifferential metrologyWe present a differential technique for vector magnetic sensing based on a cold- atom cloud in a magnetic quadrupole trap. An external homogeneous magnetic field displaces the trap center in a direction and magnitude proportional to the field. By reversing the quadrupole polarity between experimental shots and comparing the resulting cloud positions, we extract a differential displacement signal that is free from common-mode effects such as gravity and weak magnetic- field inhomogeneities. The signal is directionally proportional to the external field and requires only absorption imaging, without spectroscopic interrogation. Assuming micron-scale position resolution, the technique enables field resolution at the milli-Gauss level. It offers a practical tool for field compensation in magnetically sensitive experimental stages, bridging operational regimes from Earth-level fields to atomic magnetometry. A straightforward extension to full three-dimensional sensing is possible with only a minimal addition to standard cold-atom infrastructure.2025-09-112025-11-10Experimental data (image data)<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0">CC BY-NC 4.0</a>Á. Kurkó et al. : “Cold-Atom Buoy: A Differential Magnetic Sensing Technique in Cold Quadrupole Traps”Á. Kurkó et al. : “Cold-Atom Buoy: A Differential Magnetic Sensing Technique in Cold Quadrupole Traps”Readmetext/plain; charset=UTF-8Fig2_0.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig2_1.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig2_2.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig2_3.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig2_4.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig2_5.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig2_6.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig2_7.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig2_8.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig2_9.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig3_0.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig3_1.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig3_2.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig3_3.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig3_4.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig3_5.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig3_6.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig3_7.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig3_8.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig3_9.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig5_0.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig5_1.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig5_2.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig5_3.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig5_4.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig5_5.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig5_6.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig5_7.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig5_8.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig5_9.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig6_0.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig6_1.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig6_10.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig6_11.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig6_12.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig6_2.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig6_3.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig6_4.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig6_5.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig6_6.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig6_7.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig6_8.pickleapplication/octet-streamFig6_9.pickleapplication/octet-stream