Atoms and cavities:: Explorations of quantum entanglement

The interaction of circular Rydberg atoms with a high-quality microwave cavity makes it possible to realize complex quantum state manipulations. The state of an atom can be "copied" onto the cavity. Reversing this operation at a later time with a second atom, we realize an elementary "quantum memory" holding an atomic quantum coherence for a while in a cavity mode. We have also generated two-atom entangled states of the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen type. At variance with previous experiments, this one implies massive particles in a completely controlled process. These entanglement manipulations can be generalized to more complex or to mesoscopic systems and open the way to new tests of fundamental aspects of the quantum world.