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We consider a class of states in an ensemble of two-level atoms: asuperposition of two distinct atomic coherent states, which can be regarded asatomic analogues of the states usually called Schrodinger cat states in quantumoptics. According to the relation of the constituents we define polar andnonpolar cat states. The properties of these are investigated by the aid of thespherical Wigner function. We show that nonpolar cat states generally exhibitsqueezing, the measure of which depends on the separation of the components ofthe cat, and also on the number of the constituent atoms. By solving the masterequation for the polar cat state embedded in an external environment, wedetermine the characteristic times of decoherence, dissipation and also thecharacteristic time of a new parameter, the non-classicality of the state. Thislatter one is introduced by the help of the Wigner function, which is used alsoto visualize the process. The dependence of the characteristic times on thenumber of atoms of the cat and on the temperature of the environment shows thatthe decoherence of polar cat states is surprisingly slow.

Wigner functions, squeezing properties, and slow decoherence of a mesoscopic superposition of two-level atoms