We propose a scheme for generating three-dimensional entangled states for two atoms trapped in two separate cavities. The scheme is based on the detection of photons leaking from the cavities after the atom-cavity interaction. The scheme is useful for the test of quantum nonlocality and quantum information processing.
Based on the interference effect of polarized photons leaking out of separate cavities, we propose schemes for the generation of the N -atom Greenberger–Horne–Zeilinger (GHZ) state, three-atom W state and a genuine four-atom entangled state |χ⟩. In these schemes, each of the atoms is trapped separately in a remote optical cavity, and the possible spontaneous channels induced by the excited atoms lead to the coherent superposition of the states of the atoms. The desired multipartite entangled states can be generated with a certain success probability by the subsequent detection of the polarized photons in different modes. The schemes would be useful steps towards long-distance quantum communication, distributed quantum computation and constructing remote quantum information processing networks.