Generation of entangled coherent states for two cavity modes via resonant interaction with a V-type three-level atom

This paper proposes a scheme for the generation of entangled coherent states for two cavity modes. In the scheme a V-type three-level atom is sent through a two-mode cavity filled with a coherent field. After the atom--cavity interaction and detection of the atomic state the cavity modes may evolve to a superposition of two-mode coherent states. As the scheme is based on resonant atom--cavity interaction, the required interaction time is short, which is important in view of the decoherence. Moreover, additional classical pulses are unnecessary before and after the atom--cavity interaction.