Generation of long-living entanglement between two separate three-level atoms

A scheme for nonconditional generation of long-living maximally entangled states between two spatially well separated atoms is proposed. In the scheme, Λ-type atoms pass a resonatorlike equipment of dispersing and absorbing macroscopic bodies giving rise to body-assisted electromagnetic field resonances of well-defined heights and widths. Strong atom-field coupling is combined with weak atom-field coupling to realize entanglement transfer from the dipole-allowed transitions to the dipole-forbidden transitions, whereby the entanglement is preserved when the atoms depart from the bodies and from each other. The theory is applied to the case of atoms passing by a microsphere.