Photon-mediated interactions: a scalable tool to create and sustain entangled states of N atoms

We propose and study the use of photon-mediated interactions for the generation of steady-state entanglement between N atoms that are separated by arbitrary distances. Through the judicious use of coherent drives and the placement of the atoms in a network of Cavity QED systems, a balance between their unitary and dissipative dynamics can be precisely engineered to stabilize a long-range correlated state of qubits in the steady state. We discuss the general theory behind such a scheme, and present an example of how it can be used to drive a register of N atoms to a generalized W-state, and the entanglement sustained indefinitely. The achievable steady-state fidelities for entanglement and its scaling with the number of qubits are discussed for presently existing superconducting quantum circuits. While the protocol is primarily discussed for a superconducting circuit architecture, it is ideally realized in any Cavity QED platform that permits controllable delivery of coherent electromagnetic radiation to specified locations.