Entanglement and entropy engineering of atomic two-qubit states

We propose a scheme employing quantum-reservoir engineering to controllably entangle the internal states of two atoms trapped in a high finesse optical cavity. Using laser and cavity fields to drive two separate Raman transitions between metastable atomic ground states, a system is realized corresponding to a pair of two-state atoms coupled collectively to a squeezed reservoir. Phase-sensitive reservoir correlations lead to entanglement between the atoms, and, via local unitary transformations and adjustment of the degree and purity of squeezing, one can prepare entangled mixed states with any allowed combination of linear entropy and entanglement of formation.