QUANTUM SWITCHES AND NONLOCAL MICROWAVE FIELDS

A scheme to realize an optical switch with quantum coherence between i ts ''open'' and ''closed'' states is presented. It involves a single a tom in a superposition of circular Rydberg states crossing a high Q ca vity. A combination of switches could be used to prepare a quantum sup erposition of coherent microwave field states located simultaneously i n two cavities. Such nonclassical states and their decoherence due to cavity dissipation could be studied by performing atom correlation exp eriments.