Abstract

We study a lossless interaction of two-level atoms with a quantum field in the high detuning limit. The possibility of creating atomic Schrödinger cat states [Agarwal, Puri, Singh, Phys. Rev. A 56 (1997) 2249] for different initial field states is discussed. Dipole moment evolution and atomic squeezing are also considered. © 1998 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.