Generation of superpositions of atomic coherent states through Raman atom-field interaction

We propose a scheme for the generation of superpositions of collective atom ic coherent states. In the scheme a collection of degenerate Lambda-type th ree-level atoms is confined in a high-Q cavity and interacts with the cavit y held in a Raman manner. Then a state reduction on the field collapses the atomic system onto a superposition state.